By Milcah Tanimu
The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), particularly its women’s wing, has urgently requested the intervention of Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State due to the deteriorating security situation in the region. SOKAPU’s statement highlights recent violent incidents and the resulting loss of lives, abductions, and property damage.
The National Women Coordinator of SOKAPU, Mrs. Jemutu Katarma, expressed concern about the ongoing violence and insecurity in Southern Kaduna, where several local government areas (LGAs) have been affected by armed groups, including bandits and herders. Katarma emphasized that many villages have been attacked and residents have been displaced, particularly women and children who often suffer the most during such displacements.
Katarma recounted two specific incidents. The first occurred on October 2, 2021, in Kachuwe near Sarkin Pawa in Niger State, where armed bandits attacked the village, killing 13 adults and a young girl, looting food and animals, and burning down the village. They also kidnapped several females and boys, and in one heartbreaking incident, a kidnapped girl named Kauna Ali became sick and died without medical care.
The second incident took place on October 7, 2023, in Chikuri village in Chikun LGA, where bandits targeted a farm and kidnapped 14 women and a boy, including a 54-year-old woman and her 20-year-old daughter. As a result of these incidents, SOKAPU has reported that at least 27 women and girls, along with four boys, from Chikun LGA, are in the hands of kidnappers, and one of them has tragically passed away.
SOKAPU urgently appealed to Governor Uba Sani to work closely with security chiefs to ensure the safe return of these kidnapped individuals or, at the very least, provide information about their status. The statement underscores the pressing need for security measures and efforts to address the ongoing crisis in Southern Kaduna.
