ACF, Council of Imams seek arrest of attackers

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Council of Imams and Ulamas yesterday called on Kaduna State Government to apprehend and prosecute the masterminds of the Killings of 66 persons in Kajuru Local Government Area.

ACF, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim Biu said, perpetrators of the dastardly acts must be brought to book to serve as deterrent to others.

He said: “Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is deeply pained by the recent unwarranted killings of innocent lives and destruction of property of some settlements in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State on the eve of the postponed elections by some armed bandits. The heinous acts by the gun men or bandits were callous and inhuman, considering the number of casualties. Killings of innocent people for whatever reasons cannot in any way address the perceived concerns or grievances of the perpetrators of these crimes.

“ACF would not be tired of appealing to all aggrieved persons to always channel their grievances through due process of law rather than taking the law into their hands. This is because both the attacks and reprisals are often targeted at innocent people who know nothing about the feuds.

“ACF condemns such spate of killings of innocent people by armed bandits and gunmen not only in Kaduna State but also in some other parts of the country. The forum therefore calls on the security agencies to always be proactive in their operations in order to avert such incidence.

“Perpetrators of this dastardly acts must be brought to book to serve as deterrent to others. The issue of intelligence gathering and sharing should be a continuous and sustained effort by both the communities and the security agencies to ensure peaceful coexistence within the communities. This is because peaceful coexistence is sine qua non to meaningful socioeconomic development.

The religious leaders also urged the state governor Nasir El-Rufai to ensure that  the foot soldiers that participated in the killings face the wrath of the law to serve as deterrent to others.” ACF said.

The State Chairman of the Council of Imams, Ibrahim Nakaka who addressed newsmen in ‎Kaduna yesterday said: It is the responsibility of the state government to protect the lives of Muslims and other indigienes  as enshrined by the constitution of the country.

The council lamented how attacks on Muslims communities in Southern Kaduna had become a routine.