THE GREATEST CHALLENEGE OF SECURITY IN KAFANCHAN AREA IS THE AREA COMMANDER - BY Barr. Auta Maisamari

Good morning friends. We live in a new Nigeria where amazing things happen every day. We cry every day of the rampaging activities of 'unknown' gun men attacking communities and destroying lives and properties. In the recent past, whole villages in Jema'a Local Government Area of Kaduna State were utterly destroyed in a style seen only in horror films.

Another attack is now imminent in my village, Goska in Kaninkon Chiefdom in the same Jema'a Local Government Area of Kaduna State. A note was received last night to the effect that the village would be attacked. Make no mistake however of blaming it on unknown gun men. The attackers are not unknown.


An incident happened a few weeks ago where a certain young Fulani chap was allegedly beaten for allowing his herds to stray into a farm with crops. He came home and told his father and gave the name of the person whom he claimed beat him. The father came to Goska and met the Ward Head and gave the complaint. The
Ward Head then invited the young man who was said to have beaten the fulani chap and the fulani chap was asked whether he could identify who among the people that had been assembled beat him but he said none, meanwhile the boy whose name he gave to his father and claimed beat him was there. So the Ward Head advised them to go whenever they got the person that actually beat the chap then they could come back. The Fulani father was annoyed and insulted the Ward Head accusing him of being a bad Judge and the insults didn't go down well with the young men who returned the insults to the Fulani man after he had left the Ward Head's house.

A flight ensued and the police arrested five of the boys in Goska and detained for almost a week. All efforts were made to get the Area Commander of the Police in Kafanchan to release the boys but he refused. I called him on phone and beckoned him to please let us go back home and settle the problem since we have been living
together for a very long time and this is not the first time misunderstanding like this happen and we resolve same and forge ahead with life but he kept lamenting and saying that there is likely to be a repeat of the Godogodo episode in Goska. We had to approach the High Court in Kafanchan to get the boys out on bail. This did not go well with the Area Commander and he did not hide his displeasure about that. And now this threat to lives and property.

Don't forget that a similar incident happened in neighbouring Bakin Kogi village in the same Kaninkon Chiefdom and the Area Commander recklessly uttered that the Fulani have what it takes to destroy Kaninkon land in a matter of hours. He said this in the presence of people and we have deposed to this in an affidavit at the High Court of Justice of Kaduna State.

I think the greatest security challenge in the Kafanchan area is the Area Commander.