Kajuru killings: El-Rufai says death toll now 130

Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai yesterday berated those questioning the veracity of his allegation that 66 people were killed in the recent attack in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.

According to him, the death toll has risen to 130.

He had last Friday raised the alarm that unknown gunmen killed 66 persons in the area, while some Nigerians had faulted the claims.

Briefing reporters after a security meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, El-Rufai said that he has applied for the deployment of military personnel in flashpoint areas in the state to ensure adequate security during the forthcoming elections.

The latest figure, he said, was contained in a report provided through an on-going investigation by the Police.

He said: “Now, what we are hearing, the last report we got is that over 130 people were killed not even 66.”

El-Rufai, who was joined by governors Mohammed Bindow (Adamawa) and Kashim Shettima (Borno); as well as the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, Femi Adesina, said Fulani leaders have already indicated interest to provide the full list of those killed in the attack to the government.

He also assured that his government was ready to make public, the pictures of the victims and footages of how the army had to be there to help bury the dead two days after they were killed because their bodies were decomposing.

The governor described those trying to dispute his position as chief security officer of the state on the killings as grossly irresponsible people.

He said: “Now, what we are hearing, the last report we got is that, over 130 people were killed not even 66. And the Fulani leaders are providing the names of all these people, we have the list and we will release it to the press.

“And I don’t want to be groused but we can release pictures of the people killed and how the army had to be there to help bury them two days after they were killed because the bodies were decomposing, but some people are being irresponsible. They are pretending this has not happened because it does not fit their ethnic or partisan narrative. It is totally irresponsible because this can happen to anyone of us.”

He also explained that the reason behind his appeal to the affected people for calm was because he knew that those that lost their relations could take the laws into their own hands for revenge unless they believe to have seen that the government was doing something to secure justice.

El-Rufai said that during the meeting with President Buhari, he requested for enhanced military presence during the forthcoming election on February 23 and March 9 in the state.

The governor said: “In Kaduna State, we requested for enhanced military presence in particular locations that are either affected by rural banditry; these are the local government of Birnin-Gwari/Giwa Angchukwu and areas where there has been a history of either electoral violence or ethno-religious intolerance.

“We have already mapped out local arrangements with the garrison commander and the commissioner of police and we have made adequate arrangements to ensure that every citizen of Kaduna State will be free to vote in an atmosphere of peace and security.

“We got assurances from Mr. President that whatever security assets we need in addition to what is already on ground to ensure peaceful abs hitch-free elections on Saturday, those assets will be provided. All we need to do is ask.”

He also explained that yesterday’s meeting between the President and the heads of security agencies was primarily focused on the states that have higher than average security challenges, adding that four state governors (Yobe, Borno, Adamawa and Kaduna) were invited.

He said that the northeast states were discussed because of the history of Boko Haram insurgency, while Kaduna state was as a result of the recent crisis affecting parts of the state.

He said: “The governor of Borno State submitted a comprehensive brief on the situation in Borno and Yobe states for which he is very familiar having been on the seat for eight years.

“The governor of Adamawa State presented a situation report regarding Adamawa and I submitted a briefing based on what has been happening in Kaduna State in the last few weeks and months.

“We noted the significant improvement in the security situation across our states in spite of the challenges and thank the Federal Government for making available the security assets to the states any time we needed them which has led to some level of stability of the situation.

“Across the states, we are ready for elections; we do not believe that the level of challenges will preclude elections not taking place all over our states. Of course, in the case of Borno State other than one or two local governments that may vote outside of their immediate domain, every voter in Borno State will vote in his or her local government, compared to the situation in 2015 that some voters in Borno State had to vote in Maiduguri. This is not the case this time.

“In Adamawa State, apart from Madagali that is close to Sambisa, there had been no major challenges. Even there, with enhanced security presence, we are confident that there will be no problems at all conducting elections.”