People’s Democratic Party (PDP) minority caucus of the Kaduna State House of Assembly has indicted the state and federal governments of non-challant attitude towards ensuring that peace reign in Southern Kaduna.
The group said government’s style both at the State and Federal in response to the attacks on their communities, has consequently embolden the attackers with the claims that the attacks are reprisals.
The lawmakers who disclosed their displeasure over the spate of attacks and killings of their kinsmen during a briefing at the NUJ Secretariat, Kaduna Council, on Friday explained that since the inception of el-Rufai administration in 2015, Southern Kaduna has not known peace as a result of incessant attacks by armed militia with the resultant consequences of loss of lives and properties.
The lawmakers said that the government approach has encouraged the attackers to feel justified to continue with the attacks.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Hon. Emmanuel Bako Kantiok also explained that the justification of the attacks on Southern Kaduna by Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu is uncalled for.
While speaking, the lawmaker said, it is evident from the press statement of the President’s media aide that there was no attempt to condemn the attacks on the people of Southern Kaduna or was there any attempt even pretentious to commiserate with the bereaved.
He decried the silent and in-action of the Kaduna state government in the recent attacks on Kajuru, Kaura and Zango-Kataf local government area.
” As elected representatives of the people, we are worried that these attacks, massacre and destruction of properties particularly in Southern Kaduna are unabating and we have a responsibility to remind the Government to live up to its responsibilities,” the group said.
The Southern Kaduna lawmakers therefore called on both the State and Federal Government to acknowledge that life of Nigerians and that Southern Kaduna matters.
While calling on the attackers to stop justifying the attacks on the guise of reprisals, the lawmakers urged the governments to rise to its responsibilities of protecting the lives and properties of the people of Sourthern Kaduna, Kaduna State and the country at large to avoid a descent to anarchy.
