Herdsmen allegedly kill monarch, nephew in Kaduna

Suspected Fulani herdsmen allegedly unleashed violence on the residents of Southern Kaduna killing the traditional ruler of the Fadan Karshi district in Sanga Local Council, Bala Madaki and his nephew, Emmanuel Tanko, in a night attack. Narrating what happened, a resident of the community who spoke on condition of anonymity, said;

“Prior to the latest attack, the district head had applied an insecticide in his room and was sleeping outside his big compound when the Fulani unleashed the attack. We heard a gunshot and everyone woke up and ran into their various rooms around 10:00 p.m. on Sunday. The gunmen followed the district head right inside his room and killed him”.

Another resident of the community who is a traditional title holder said they now live in fear. He said the gunmen who attacked the community spoke Fulani. 

"We don’t know what is happening. We hardly sleep here with our eyes closed since 2013 when gunmen invaded our communities. These gunmen speak Fulani. Many people are being killed frequently, including women, youth, children and traditional rulers. Something must be done urgently.”

Another resident of the community said “It was very hot inside and people were sleeping outside. Around 10:00 p.m., the chief moved into his house with his family. Then some gunmen, who our people said were Fulani, stormed his compound and started shooting. They went into his room and shot him pointblank. They also shot a small boy, Emmanuel Tanko, who was writing his final year secondary school exams. The boy was a nephew of the late chief. Right now, Fadan Karshi is deserted. Shops and service centres are shut. People are either staying in-doors or are leaving the town. No one knows what is coming next. Police are patrolling the streets, but I am not sure if they have any clue about the murderers. I want you to recall that this was the district head that received former governor, Mukhtar Yero, on September 22, 2014 when our women protested half- naked because of the scale of killings by the Fulani going on at that time. Today, the type of killings going on is murdering of isolated people. Cattle are also grazing freely on people’s farms in these areas of Sanga and people are afraid to do anything about it. Now, they are targeting people and eliminating them. What people are saying about the killings of our district head is that he might have been killed by the Fulani who have a grudge with this community and the ruler.”

Meanwhile the state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has condemned the killings and appealed for calm .