Arising from an emergency Zoom Conference that lasted for about 2hours on Sunday the 2nd of August 2020, convened by the Southern & Middle Belt Movement (SMBM), the meeting discussed extensively the genocidal attacks on the helpless and defenceless women, children and the vulnerable within communities in Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
In attendance were heads of organisations and representatives from the leadership of the people of Southern Kaduna who gave graphic narrations with videos and photographic pieces of evidence of the mass killings and the dead bodies of old men, women, kids, youths and the vulnerable of their society. Notable amongst the participants were Dr Obadiah Mailafia, Jonathan Asake, the President Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, SOKAPU, Luka Biniyat- PRO Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, SOKAPU, Yinka Odumakin, Lt-Col Anthony Nyiam (retd), Ms Annkio Briggs, and Maazi Tochukwu Ezeoke.
On behalf of the people of Southern Kaduna we call on the United Nations, European Union, Christian Organizations, Save The Children Fund to request a further confirmation on the statements here that the people of Southern Kaduna have been left defenceless by the Federal and Kaduna state governments.
We note that the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Kaduna State Government maintains a narrative of Herdsmen/Farmers and communal clashes which is untrue and a blatant lie. The state and federal government, as well as other various state arms, have denied the people of Southern Kaduna the right to life, a basic human right of existence and the right to self-defence by disarming the indigenous peoples of Southern Kaduna the right to own bows and arrows and their traditional hunting-guns which are merely used for hunting. As we speak, an operation is ongoing to collect and disarm any remnant of their bows or arrows which we believe is in preparation for further attacks.
The people of Southern Kaduna are helpless and defenceless. The attackers invade the villages and commit these atrocities at night while the community is asleep. The children, women and aged are routinely found decapitated at dawn after midnight invasions.
We question the 24 hours curfew in communities in Zangon Kataf and Kauru Local government areas imposed on them by the governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai. While the community stay at home as ordered by the state government, the invaders defy the curfew, attack the community under of noses of the security personnel; and the genocide continues.
We make bold to say that the victims are not cattle rustlers as the Federal and Kaduna State Governments claim. These attacks are coordinated, organized and carried out from within and outside Nigeria. The Southern & Middle Belt Movement categorically states that the killings are ethnically and religiously motivated as the victims are overwhelmingly Christians from Southern Kaduna and the Middle Belt.
We note, that the indigenous peoples of the communities are attacked, massacred, driven away from their ancestral homelands and their attackers occupy their lands after such attacks with the state and federal government standing by while their citizens become refugees in a country that swore to protect all the rights of its citizens.
We voice our outrage and condemn in the strongest language the inabilities and unwillingness of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Armed Forces to defend the Southern Christians and indigenous citizens against these planned attacks by invaders and jihadists.
It is on record from the past statements by the spokesman of the Nigerian President who offered two choices to the terrorized indigenous farmers, to give up their ancestral homeland and be alive or protect their ancestral land and die.
We submit that the people of the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria are facing imminent starvation as the invaders first destroy crops, grains and farms that are ready for harvest.
We, therefore, are convinced that the Federal Government is unwilling and unable to defend the indigenous peoples and Christians of Southern Kaduna. We call on the peace-loving people of the world to SAVE THE SOULS OF SOUTHERN KADUNA PEOPLE.
We conclude by putting the International Criminal Court (ICC) on notice that Genocide is going on in Southern Kaduna and we express deep concern that the next target of this obvious jihad is the South of Nigeria (Christian).
Signed:
Southern Middle Belt Movement (SMBM)
