By Deborah Onyofufeke
A group, Southern Kaduna Peace Practitioners Network (SOKIPEP), has very strongly, condemned the renewed attacks in Gorra Gan Community of Zango Kataf Local Government Area
The group had stated that the attacks are from criminal elements who are determined to disrupt the level of peace achieved by the internal military outfit, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) in the area.
The group had called on security agencies to find the perpetrators of the attacks as well as their sponsors and bring them to face the law for their crimes
SOKIPEP condoled with the families of the deceased, the people of Southern Kaduna, and the Government of Kaduna State over the development while it tasked stakeholders in Southern Kaduna to Unite and work out a plan that will bring lasting solutions to the crisis
Stating that the attacks have brought so many setbacks to the people while it appealed to both the federal and the Kaduna State governments to immediately deploy relief materials to the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs.
SOKIPEP National President, reacting to the attacks in a statement on Wednesday, described the action of the aggressors which claimed six lives as despicable, while he called the attackers’ actions barbaric, callous, insensitive, and reprehensible.
He Encouraged the people of the area to remain calm, maintaining that security agencies were capable of unraveling the culprits just as it warned sponsors of crises in the area to desist forthwith or be prepared to face the wrath of their actions by sincere peace lovers
which it said, would soon fish them out.
He thanked OPSH for its prompt response to the attack which he said quickly brought the situation under control thus reducing tension and preventing reprisal actions.
“As a peace advocacy group working with both security agencies and stakeholders in Southern Kaduna to bring lasting peace to our area, we note with concern the latest attack on Gora Gan Community of Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State. We condemn in the strongest terms yet another attack by some mindless and senseless criminals in Gora Gan village which claimed the lives of six persons.
“This attack by some suspected cattle rustlers whose mission was to steal some bulls being used by the locals for farming is unfortunate and must be condemned by all. We condole with the government and people of Southern Kaduna over the loss of six in the attack, our heart is with them, “the statement said.
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The group, however, commended Operation Safe Haven, saying as, usual, that the prompt and effective intervention of the internal security outfit arrested the situation from escalation resulting in reprisals which consequences, it noted, would have been devastating.
“We wish to acknowledge the prompt response of OPSH in quelling the Gora Gan village attack. Worthy of commendation is the timely and quick response of the men of Operation Safe Haven who gave the attackers a hot chase and as a result, killed four of the attackers who invaded the community,” SOKIPEP said.
The group said its “coordinator of Zango Kataf Local Government confirmed the timely response of the security men and attributed the less casualty to their timely and tactical efforts.”
“We are full of thanks to God Almighty and officers and men of Operation Safe Haven for their responsive actions not only in the Gora Gan village attack but also the various others in the entire Southern Kaduna in the past in general. But for the prompt response of the gallant security men, our community would have been completely brought down considering the intimidating number of the attackers and its sophistication.
“This gallantry of the security men has given us more grounds to continue to support the special military outfit and other security agencies working in Southern Kaduna to restore peace. We know they are working unbiasedly and professionally to protect our communities,” the group’s statement further read.
It called for possible support from both authorities and the stakeholders for the military outfit.
“All that is needed for them (OPSH) to succeed and return Southern Kaduna to part of peace and progress is for all stakeholders to come together and speak truth to ourselves by calling a spade a spade, criminals for criminals rather than unjustly acting the script of some desperate people working against the efforts of OPSH and its Commander to restore peace in our area, just all for their selfish gain,” SOKIPEP added.
Alleging that outsiders were sponsoring media attacks to frustrate OPSH’s efforts in restoring peace in Southern Kaduna, SOKIPEP asked,” How can we allow an external person (s) to be sponsoring us against the security agents who are making sacrifices to keep us safe? What are their interests for always not seeing anything good in Operation Safe Haven, led by Major Ibrahim salad, isn’t that clear that there is an agenda to discredit the good efforts of the commander and his men?”
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It alleged, “We receive an intelligence that some faceless agents are being sponsored for a press conference and protest against Operation Safe Haven on Thursday, May 19, 2023″, adding:” Let it be clear that should this happen, we will have a clearer view of the sponsors of the Southern Kaduna crisis and this would provide us with no option than to take full-page advertorials to expose these enemies of Southern Kaduna to the world to know.”
“The genuine Southern Kaduna youths are not aware of these evil plots and we shall together resist any form of hiring miscreants for protest in Abuja,” the group warned.
“We, therefore, call on the sponsors of this plan to desist or risk being exposed with shocking details. Finally, we appeal to the Government of Kaduna state to urgently provide relief materials for the displaced victims of the crisis in Southern Kaduna. Our people are suffering and urgently need help,” it appealed.
