(Watch video report above.)

FULANI HERDSMEN ATTACK SOUTHERN KADUNA AGAIN
Wiped out entire family; father, mother, and three Children

PRESS RELEASE BY THE ATYAP COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION ON THE RECENT KILLINGS IN ATYAP LAND
The Atyap Community make this press release with a heavy heart over the sad incidents that have bedeviled the land in the last few months.

On Thursday 17th December, 2020 the Gan Gora community was attacked by armed Gun men suspected to be Fulani militias on motor cycles. The attack left over seven (7) people dead and over 17 houses were burnt down. The Sheyin family was wiped out almost completely by the attackers.

The victims of the attack include the following:
Ayuba Sheyin (Husband) 69 Years
Jummai Sheyin (Wife) 55 ,,
Saviour Sheyin (Son) 14 ,,
Goodluck Sheyin (Son) 11 ,,
Patience Sheyin (Daughter) 5 ,,
Peter Akau 70 ,,
Joel Ishaya 35 ,,
Binta Musa Tauna 85 ,,
Henry Jonathan 16 ,, in hospital with gun shots.

The Sheyin family lived just in front of the Primary School where the military meant to ‘secure’ the village, after previous attacks, are stationed.

▪️Prior to the attack of Thursday 17th December, 2020, 2 young men were attacked by Fulani gunmen at Kakwa (Kurmin Gandu) village on 26th October, 2020 in which one (1) was killed and the other seriously injured.

▪️On 17th November, 2020, the District head of Mazaki, Mr. Haruna Kuye and his son Destiny Kuye were gruesomely murdered in their home while the wife and daughter were seriously injured.

▪️The murder case of Yusuf Musa Magaji on 11th June, 2020 in which the father of late Yusuf, Rev. Musa Magaji, in a statement to the Police, gave the names of the suspected murderers of his son, Yusuf, but there was no arrest and no Prosecution.

This is contrary to the Peace Agreement between the Atyap, Fulani and Hausa, in which the 3 ethnic nationalities unanimously agreed that attackers, when found should be arrested and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent. This action by the security agencies appear to be encouraging the attacks.

We are calling on the Fulani and Hausa leaders who entered into the Peace Agreement to make concerted efforts to prevail on their youths to stop this barbaric acts of murdering innocent Atyap people, if they are to be trusted with the Peace Agreement signed. We are also calling for a review of the Peace Agreement, considering the recent happenings in our land.

We are also calling on the security agents to do more in the tracking down and arrest of attackers in line with His Excellency, Governor Nasiru Ahmed El Rufai's directives of identifying and arresting the culprits of these heinous acts.

We are calling on the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to hasten and make the relief materials promised by His Excellency available to alleviate the suffering of the victims as the number of Internally Displaced Persons keeps increasing by the day as the attacks continue even as at the time of making this Press Release.

Government should be Proactive in ensuring the security of lives and property so as to restore confidence of the people otherwise the people will have no option than to defend themselves.

We commiserate with His Highness, the Agwatyap, Sir Dominic Gambo Yahaya, the District head of Abin Kanai, the Families of the victims and the entire Atyap Nation that the almighty God will continue to watch over our land.

We pray that we will all celebrate the Christmas and the New Year peacefully. Stay safe and observe all the Covid19 protocols.

Mr. Sule Tinat Bodam
General Secretary,
Atyap Community Development Association.