Two cows allegedly killed
through poisoning in Mafan
village, Fadan Atakar
Chiefdom of Kaura Local
Government Area of Kaduna
State, sparked off clashes that led to the death of 19 people,
and the destruction of four
villages between last
Saturday and Sunday,
according to the Chairman of
Kaura Local Government Area, Mr. Kumai Badu. 10 people were also critically
injured in the violence. The
injured were taken to
Jankwano ECWA Church
Hospital, Jos and Kaura
General Hospital for treatment, Badu added. Badu also said that no fewer
than 500 people from the
four affected communities
have become refugees and
are camped in two places,
Fadan Atakar, and Zangan. Confirming the development,
the Public Relations Officer of
Kaduna State Emergency
Management Agency, SEMA,
Mallam Abubakar Adamu,
said as at Friday, the number of refugees at the two camps
was 500, but the number
was bound to rise. The Kaduna State Police
spokesman, Deputy
Superintendent of Police,
DSP, Aminu Lawan also
confirmed the development,
but said he had not been briefed on the casualty figure
by the Area Commander in
charge of the affected area. Badu who spoke to newsmen
from one of the camps at
Model Primary School, Fadan
Atakar, said it was the first
time Atakar ever came under
Fulani attack. “There was a young man,
Aboi Stephen (21), in Mafan
who had been complaining
that some cattle have been
grazing in his dry season
farm. I was told that the cattle destroyed a good
portion of the farm, and that
there was no end in sight to
the destruction. Only the
Fulanis own cattle there,”
Badu narrated what led to the clash. “About two weeks ago, two
Fulani cows were found
dead, apparently of poison.
The owner of the cows was
said to have publicly warned
Aboi of the grave consequences of his action. I
don’t know if it was Aboi
that poisoned the cows, or
even if they died of
poisoning. “Then one day, Aboi was
found missing. After a search
by the villages they found his
corpse which had deep
machete cuts and his throat
was slit open. “Upon that discovery,
women and children
mobilised to the palace of the
chief of Atakar, Chief Tobias
Nkom-Wada accusing him of
inviting the Fulani into Atakar land in the first place.
They vandalised the palace
and the chief is now living in
his personal house in Tachire. “On seeing what the women
and children did, the Fulanis
started moving out en mass
to their kin in Kanawuri areas
of Plateau State, which also
has some Atakar speaking villages. “On their way, they shot a
young man that same day in
Kanawuri area. That pitched
them against the Atakar in
Plateau State and they fought
for days. The fighting led to the burning of some Atakar
villages. “The affected ones had to
move to this Local
Government, where we open
the first refugee camp for
them at Mifi. But, we have
merged it with the other two, because it was too
vulnerable. “When the Army moved in
last week, the Fulanis left
Kanawuri in Plateau, state
back to this place with their
arms. “Last Saturday by 3p.m., they
attacked Mafan, Zalang, Taliki
and Zangkan villages up
those hills, while able bodied
men had gone to the farms
or the market. They went on unchallenged from 3pm on
Saturday, till Sunday
morning. “When the Army arrived the
scene on Sunday morning the
Officer in charge said that
they counted 19 bodies. All
the Houses in the villages
have been burnt
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