*Those involved in the killings shall be prosecuted —El-Rufai  

By Soni Daniel

KADUNA— Yahaya Musa, a 13-year-old boy, has been killed in the latest violence in Kaduna State, weekend.

Meanwhile, Governor Nasiru el-Rufai  of Kaduna State has said that all those found culpable in the killing of innocent people in the recent crisis in Southern Kaduna, which he described as  unfortunate and condemnable, will be prosecuted.

According to reports, the tragic incident occurred in Zankan village, a Fulani settlement  in Kaura Local Government Area of the state.

Five people were also said to have sustained injuries.

It was gathered that gunmen stormed the village in an unidentified car around 8.30 p.m., and opened fire on the residents.

“The gunmen came in a car and opened fire on residents of the village. They killed a13-year-old boy and injured five others, who are currently receiving treatment in a hospital in Platuea State, “ a witness said.

The witness called on the authorities to as a matter of urgency live up to their responsibility of securing the lives and property of citizens,  especially Fulani, “before they are wiped out.”

Spokesman of the command, Mr Aliyu Usman, confirmed the attack.

Those involved in the killings shall be prosecuted—El-Rufai

He said this when the Council of Traditional Chiefs and Emirs,  led by  Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, paid him a solidarity visit.

“This is not something to talk about because I am not the first governor to receive this kind of treatment, every governor in the last 15 years in this state has been treated this way and it is part of the challenges and burden of leadership. So I am not disturbed.

“As you know, leaders especially in any political dispensation, must learn to tolerate a lot of things because you have those who like you and those who oppose you because of political differences.

“That is why I did not take this personal, but what we will do is to prosecute all those responsible for the killings. And we are working hard with security agencies to ensure our citizens are safe and secure,” the governor said.

He said the biggest assignment was for the citizens to unite and should do their best to see that they have peace and unity, which is  prerequisite for progress and development.

Measures to tackle persistent crises

He said the government had adopted measures to tackle the persistent crises in the area.

“I have met the Chief of Army Staff and he has approved the establishment of two battalions in Southern Kaduna; one in Kafanchan and the other one in Kachia.

“I thought the one in Kachia will be sited elsewhere because of the presence of both the Nigerian Army and Navy Schools but I know the military has a reason of putting it in Kachia.

“Kaduna State government is looking for a temporary place in Kafanchan to provide the army a temporary settlement before a barrack will be constructed for them.”

He said they are starting with Kafanchan, then that of Kachia will follow.

“We hope that this will douse the fear in the mind of people and that the military presence will build confidence and we hope that their presence will help in confronting the attackers, especially with the added surveillance aircraft.

“The second measure is that those involved in attacking and killing people and those behind the violence are being tracked and we hope, with the arrests, they will be prosecuted.

“The third measure is that we have to go back to the dialogue and reconciliation efforts we have started in the past. We have a Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue that has been working in southern Kaduna in the past two years.

Earlier, Alhaji Shehu Idiris said the council condemned the cycle of killings and reprisals in parts of Southern Kaduna,  describing them as senseless and inhuman.

The council appealed to security agencies and government at all levels to urgently tackle hate speech, divisive rhetoric and incitement.