Note:Bishop Tunde bakareis not Pastor Tunde bakare of CPC VP...they are not the same persons. Please take note. Also note that what Bishop Tunde said is the real fact...cant you see the number of xtians being killed and churches burnt,
Lecturers, students, others killed in Kaduna
The violence that broke out in Kaduna metropolis and Zaria on Monday has spread to Kafanchan and Zonkwa in the southern part of the state.
On Tuesday in Samaru, Hayin Dogo area of Zaria near the Basawa Army Barracks, eyewitnesses alleged that soldiers killed about 10 persons suspected to have killed some lecturers and students at the Kaduna State Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Zaria on Monday.
Christians in Zaria were said to have complained of being trapped in the violence and unable to run for safety due to the curfew imposed by the state government to curtail the violence.
They also complained of lack of access to food and water.
Many residents of the state capital were caught unawares by the violence and left without money and foodstuffs at home while those who have the cash also found it difficult to buy foodstuffs as markets in the state remained closed.
Reacting to the orgy of violence and killings, the Federal Government on Tuesday deployed about 200 additional riot policemen in Kaduna to quell the violence in the state.
Trucks conveying hundreds of anti- riot policemen were seen at the Presidential Lounge of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, at about 4.30pm on Tuesday.
The policemen, who were initially scheduled to take a special flight to Kaduna, later went through the Nigeria Air Force hanger, where they boarded two Hercules C130 military aircraft expected to convey them to Kaduna.
In Sabo area, a suburb of Kaduna, traders who attempted to sell their wares in front of the market were chased away by security agents to prevent further looting of the shops by criminals.
Chairman of the state chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Tunde Bakare, told our correspondent on the phone that more than 10 churches were set ablaze in Zaria while several people were killed by the rioters in the town.
Bakare listed most of the churches burnt in the town to include those in the Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic quarters as well as those located within the Samaru and Kongo campus of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
The PFN boss added that in spite of the 24-hour curfew imposed by the state government, the hoodlums armed with knives, sticks, bows and arrows moved about, especially around 10.00 pm and 2.00am from house to house attacking people and burning their homes.
He claimed that apparently because the security agents were not given orders to shoot, the hoodlums ignored them, adding that the most challenging period for the residents was during the night when the rioters normally regrouped to unleash terror.
Bakare said that it was unfortunate that the security operatives found it difficult to contain the hoodlums.
He said, "When the police chased them, they will regroup later. The security agents have done well, but it appears they have not been given decisive instructions to deal with them."
"The boys were engaging the police; their time for attack is in the night between 11:00pm and 2:00 am. They will be chanting Sai Buhari. Because of the curfew our people find it difficult to run to safe zones. The curfew is already taking its toll on the people as they have no food nor water and they cannot go out to get these basic needs.
"Why is the church being asked to pay for this matter which is a political issue? Why are Christians being killed because of an issue which is purely political? Why are Christians being made a scapegoat over a political matter?
"Right now we are under siege and our churches are being burnt and our people are being killed. We called on government to take adequate steps to halt this massacre of Christians" Bakare said
In Kafanchan and Zonkwa in the southern part of the state, heavy fighting broke out between Christians and Muslims at about 8pm on Monday night. The fighting did not subside until about noon on Tuesday with some of the residents alleging that those involved in the fight may have been brought into the area from elsewhere.
"I saw the body of a man beheaded after he was killed by these men. They are using grenade launchers, and the guns they are firing are not mere AK47s", a resident who pleaded anonymity said.
It was gathered that the Police in Kafanchan could not contain the situation as youths from surrounding villages teamed up and entered the town around midnight to take on the alleged CPC armed men.
The youths reportedly used bows and arrows, cutlasses and sticks to slow the advances of the attackers in some areas but many churches and homes of Christians were complete razed.
Our correspondent gathered that in Kagoro, Afana, Kurdan and Garage a detachment of Special Task Force unit from Jos moved into the towns to restore order.
Eye witnesses in Zonkwa said that Fajumali Hotel was set ablaze by the rioters, resulting in a reprisal attack and burning of the houses of suspected CPC supporters. Unspecified number of mosques were also razed in the Christian-dominated town.
The Emir of Jema'a, Alhaji Isa Muhammadu told the Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that even though there were security agents in the area, they were so overwhelmed and could not do much to restore order to the town.
The Emir lamented that the security personnel were incapacitated, adding that those unleashing terror were so much that even if they were blocked from one end of the town, they would regroup and start attacking from the other end.
Comments