The Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State command, Ahmad Abdulrahman, said he advised Governor Nasir el-Rufai against quoting any particular figure as the number of casualties recorded in the ethnic crisis between the Adara and Fulani in the Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.
Abdulrahman, who stated this on Thursday, refused to confirm the figure quoted by the governor, saying his men were still investigating the incident.
The police chief also said both the Fulani and the Adara natives recorded casualties contrary to the position of El-Rufai, who claimed that all the 130 people who were killed and buried in shallow graves were mainly Fulani.
He said, “I told the governor that figures in a crisis of this magnitude should be left (unquoted) until all investigations have been concluded in all the areas where information is coming from, are covered.
“You cannot come up with a figure, otherwise you will quote a particular figure now and quote another later. This is what is happening now. As far as the police are concerned, we are still investigating and the investigation is ongoing.”
The CP explained that the police could only arrest the Adara leaders in connection with the crisis because the people claimed that they were attacked by unknown gunmen.
He said, “We are working on three prominent theories. First is that unknown gunmen believed to be Fulani, attacked the Adara people and escaped in the night on 11 February. The DPO in charge of the area immediately mobilised his men to the area and combed the bushes in search of the perpetrators in the middle of the night.
“It was there that they started seeing the carnage. Unfortunately, the Adara natives went to the Fulani communities and carried out a reprisal.
“However, we have arrested one of the suspected Fulani that attacked the Adara people.”
Abdulrahman, who stated this on Thursday, refused to confirm the figure quoted by the governor, saying his men were still investigating the incident.
The police chief also said both the Fulani and the Adara natives recorded casualties contrary to the position of El-Rufai, who claimed that all the 130 people who were killed and buried in shallow graves were mainly Fulani.
He said, “I told the governor that figures in a crisis of this magnitude should be left (unquoted) until all investigations have been concluded in all the areas where information is coming from, are covered.
“You cannot come up with a figure, otherwise you will quote a particular figure now and quote another later. This is what is happening now. As far as the police are concerned, we are still investigating and the investigation is ongoing.”
The CP explained that the police could only arrest the Adara leaders in connection with the crisis because the people claimed that they were attacked by unknown gunmen.
He said, “We are working on three prominent theories. First is that unknown gunmen believed to be Fulani, attacked the Adara people and escaped in the night on 11 February. The DPO in charge of the area immediately mobilised his men to the area and combed the bushes in search of the perpetrators in the middle of the night.
“It was there that they started seeing the carnage. Unfortunately, the Adara natives went to the Fulani communities and carried out a reprisal.
“However, we have arrested one of the suspected Fulani that attacked the Adara people.”
Tags
Crime