The Adara Development Association, ADA, has asked Muhammad Rabiu, the Kaduna state commissioner of police, and Dauda Madaki, chairman of Kajuru Local Government Area, to tender a public apology to the Adara people over what it described as the deliberate suppression of the truth surrounding the abduction of 177 worshippers in Kurmin Wali community, Kajuru LGA of Kaduna state.
The association was reacting to confirmation by the headquarters of Nigerian Police Force that the abduction of over 100 people in the community on Sunday during church service was indeed true.
Rabiu and Madaki had at a press conference on Monday at the Government House, Kaduna, denied that there were no abductions, describing reports about the incident as “mere falsehood which is being peddled by conflict entrepreneurs who want to cause chaos in Kaduna State.”
They challenged those who made such claims by producing names of the victims.
Their comments were trailed by sharp reactions from several groups including the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria, (CSW N), and other groups who insisted that 177 people in the community, including men, women and children on Sunday during church service following attacks on three churches by bandits.
Benjamin Hundeyin, the force public relations officer, confirmed the incident in a statement on Tuesday saying Kayode Egbetokun,
the inspector general of police, had deployed tactical units, intensified patrols to rescue the victims.
ADA in a statement on Wednesday in Kaduna by Sebastine Barde, its
president alleged that despite receiving direct information from residents of the community, the commissioner of police and the council chairman “deliberately suppressed the truth and came up with a misleading and painful narrative that there was no abduction.”
He said, “Rather than acknowledge the gravity of the situation, both the Commissioner of Police and the Local Government Chairman publicly dismissed the incident, describing verified reports as rumours allegedly propagated by so called conflict entrepreneurs”.
Barde questioned why the council chairman, who is an indigene of the community, would align himself with people who wanted to cover evil perpetrated against his people.
“It is particularly disturbing that the council Chairman, an indigene of Afogo Ward, would align himself with attempts to cover up the truth of such a grave tragedy affecting his own people.
“We are compelled to question what could drive a son of the soil to participate in the suppression of facts rather than mobilise urgently for the rescue of innocent citizens and the provision of much needed support”, he said.
The association said in response to the challenge by the commissioner of police and the council chairman to produce evidence of the abduction, “we have formally presented a comprehensive list of the 166 persons currently being held in captivity.”
Barde added that survivors of the attack, as well as relatives of the abducted victims, were available to further substantiate the claims and expose what he described as falsehoods advanced by the commissioner of police and the council chairman.
He said the conduct of the police commissioner and the council chairman was in sharp contrast to the public statements and disposition of Governor Uba Sani.
“We regard their actions as those of overzealous officials who must be firmly reprimanded and called to order.
“There can be no rational justification for such a complete absence of empathy and compassion toward peaceful and underprivileged citizens subjected to extreme trauma.
“The moral failure inherent in refusing even to acknowledge the suffering of the victims is both alarming and indefensible.
“Accordingly, we demand that the Commissioner of Police and the Chairman of Kajuru Local Government issue a public apology to the Adara people for deliberately suppressing the truth.
“We further call on Governor Uba Sani to demonstrate clarity of purpose and moral leadership by saying and doing what is right.
“Finally, we make a passionate appeal to the federal and Kaduna state governments and all people of goodwill to urgently come to the aid of the Adara community to ensure the speedy rescue of victims and the security of our vulnerable communities.”
In his reaction, Secretary of the Christian Association (CAN) in the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Elder Sunday Oibe, said the denial by the police Commissioner and the council chairman that the incident did not happen was painful.
“We condemned the unfortunate incident that has happened in Kajuru.
“Our were pained by the denial by the police Commissioner and the Kajuru council chairman that reports of the abductions were false.
“The reason why Nigeria is where we are is this issue of living in denials.To us, it is an irresponsible act, and we condemn it”, Oibe said.
He noted however, that the police has redeemed its image when the force headquarters issued a statement admitting the fact that the incident truly happened.
Oibe added that, “No body prays for incidents like this to happen, but when it happens, we should be opened and come together to handle the situation. That is the way to go.
“We are happy that the police headquarters in Abuja has admitted that the incident happened.
“We are calling on the police and other relevant security agencies to do everything possible to ensure that the victims are brought back home safely. That is our concern
Group demands apology from police, council chairman for allegedly denying Kaduna church abductions
