December 2022 Kagoro killings | |
---|---|
Part of Herder-farmer conflict in Nigeria, Southern Kaduna genocide, and Nigerian bandit conflict | |
Location | Sokwong and Mallagum 1 villages, Kagoro, Kaura LGA, Kaduna State, Nigeria |
Date | December 19–25, 2022 |
Deaths | 46+
|
Perpetrator | Fulani herdsmen (alleged by Kagoro chief) [1] |
Between December 19 and 25, 2022, several villages in Kagoro, Kaduna State, Nigeria were attacked by unknown groups, who killed over 46 people in two attacks. [2] [3]
Kaduna State has been a hotbed of banditry since the conflict intensified in the early 2010s. Many bandit attacks take place along the Abuja–Kaduna Highway, an extremely important trade route in central Nigeria, although attacks also occur in more remote parts of the state, often caused by conflicts or harassment of local villagers. [2] In March 2022, alleged Fulani herdsmen launched a reprisal attack on farmers for the death of a Fulani herder, killing over 37 people and destroying a town. [4] In response, Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai visited the village and increased military presence around it, calling the protection force Operation Safe Haven. [5] [6] After the March attacks, there was no bandit or herder-farmer violence in the area. [2] Prior to the December attacks, residents of Kagoro had noticed a buildup of bandit weaponry and personnel, although local military did not do anything about the situation. [2] On December 15, three people were killed by a bandit attack in Mallagum 1 village. [7]
The first attack began on December 19, around 11pm. [2] The first attack took place in Sokwong, where the bandits razed all sixty-two houses, some with people in them, and stole motorcycles and shot over ten civilians trying to flee into the bush. [7] [8] The perpetrators then made their way to the village of Mallagum 1 ^ where around 102 houses were burned, and over 28 people were killed. [8]
Following the attack, the chairman of Sokwong village stated nearly every house was burnt down, and few villagers were able to gather their belongings. [7] A statement by the Southern Kaduna People's Union (SOKAPU) stated that after the attacks, some villagers went back to search for bodies, many of which were still left in the bush after trying to flee. [2] By December 21, the combined death toll for both villages had reached 40. [9] A funeral took place on December 22. [9]
After the funeral, gunmen returned to the village of Mallagum 1 and "started shooting sporadically", according to witnesses. [10] The attack occurred between 9 and 10 pm on December 25, when many Nigerian Christians were celebrating Christmas. [11] At least three people were killed in the post-funeral attack by December 23. [12]
Ufuwai Bonet, the chief of Kagoro chiefdom, stated on January 1, 2023, that he was open to dialogue with Fulani herdsmen to stop further killings. [3] These statements were echoed by Global Peace Foundation - Nigeria's director, John Joseph Hayab, who also called for peace and negotiations. Senator Gideon Gwani, who represents Kaura LGA, where Kagoro is located, spoke out against the killings and the military's inaction in preventing them. [13] Gwani also said most villages were still deserted by early January.
Kaduna is a state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna, which was the 8th largest city in the country as of 2006. Created in 1967 as North-Central State, which also encompassed the modern Katsina State, Kaduna State achieved its current borders in 1987. Kaduna State is the fourth largest and third most populous state in the country, Kaduna State is nicknamed the Centre of Learning, owing to the presence of numerous educational institutions of importance within the state such as Ahmadu Bello University, Nigerian Defence Academy, Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Kaduna Polytechnic, etc.
Kafanchan is a town located in the southern part of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The town owes much of its development to the railway development in the area. The railway is situated at a particular junction of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) station built in 1927. It sits on the railtrack connecting Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kafanchan, Kuru, Bauchi and finally Maiduguri. As of 2007, Kafanchan had an estimated population of 83,092.
Zangon Kataf, is a Local Government Area in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Zonkwa. It is also a name of a town in the chiefdom of the Atyap. Other towns include: Batadon (Madakiya), Agut Ntswuo, Kamantan, Anchuna and Kamuru. It has an area of 2,579 km2 and a population of 318,991 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 802.
Between 23 and 25 June 2014, a series of attacks occurred in central Nigeria. On 23–24 June, gunmen attacked a number of villages in Kaduna State, killing around 150 people. The attack was blamed on Fulani tribesmen. On 25 June 2014, a bomb exploded at the Emab Plaza in the national capital of Abuja, killing at least 21 people. In response to the bombing, the Nigerian military raided two militants camps on 26 June, killing more than 100 people.
Across Nigeria, there are a series of disputes over arable land between predominantly Muslim Fulani herders and predominantly Christian non-Fulani farmers. The conflicts have been especially prominent in the Middle Belt since the return of democracy in 1999. More recently, they have deteriorated into attacks on farmers by Fulani herdsmen.
On February 10–11, 2019, 141 people were killed in the Kajuru LGA of the Nigerian state of Kaduna according to the state governor, hours before the Nigerian general election. The dead included 11 Adara people and 130 Fulani. However the Fulani group Miyetti Allah was reported to have published a list of 131 Fulani who had died and it also stated that the bodies of 66 Fulani were recovered while the bodies of 65 other Fulani remained missing. An attack by suspected Fulani gunmen on Ungwar Bardi killed 11 Adara people. An Adara militia in turn attacked Fulani settlements. Miyetti Allah later clarified 66 were buried in graves and 65 remained missing.
Musa Didam was a former District Head of the Fantswam District, then in the Jama'a Emirate and later the first indigenous monarch of Fantswam (Kafanchan) Chiefdom, a Nigerian traditional state in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. He was also known by the titles "Mallam Musa Didam,""Mr. Musa Didam" and "Agwam Fantswam I."
Ufuwai Bonet is the monarch of Gworok (Kagoro) Chiefdom, a Nigerian traditional state in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. He is also known by the title "Chief of Kagoro (Gworok)". As of 2016, he is the deputy chairman of the Kaduna State council of chiefs and emirs.
The bandit conflict in northwest Nigeria is an ongoing conflict between the country's federal government and various gangs and ethnic militias. Starting in 2011, the insecurity remaining from the conflict between the Fulani and Hausa ethnic groups quickly allowed other criminal and jihadist elements to form in the region.
Events in the year 2022 in Nigeria.
On 10 April 2022, a gang of bandits killed more than 150 people in a series of attacks in Plateau State, Nigeria. The attacks are linked to the ongoing Nigerian bandit conflict. About 70 people were also kidnapped in the attacks.
On 5 June 2022, alleged Fulani militants killed thirty-two civilians in four villages in the Kajuru area of Kaduna State, Nigeria.
On April 12, 2022, armed herdsmen attacked several villages in Benue State, Nigeria, killing over 25 people and injuring many more.
From 15 to 16 May 2023 over one hundred people were killed in an attack by Fulani herders against villagers in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria.
On May 26, 2020, over seventy-four people were killed on multiple attacks in villages in Sabon Birni LGA in Sokoto State, Nigeria. The attacks were a campaign of reprisal attacks targeting Garki, and came after the massacre of nineteen civilians by bandits in Sabon Birni a week prior.
The immediate origins of killings in Southern Kaduna especially in the 2010s and early 2020s can be traced to the events that brought in Goodluck Jonathan into power in 2010 as the President of Nigeria, and escalated after the presidential election in 2011, which he won.
Southern Kaduna People's Union (SOKAPU) is a socio-cultural organization, acting as an umbrella body representing the people of Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria. In a statement made by the chairman, Southern Kaduna Leadership Council (SKLC), Ishaya Dary Akau, in September 2022, SOKAPU was mentioned as a member of the council. However, many are uncomfortable with the SOKAPU being berated as a member of the SKLC. As of March 2024, the SOKAPU National President was Samuel Tabara Kato.
The Atyap Community Development Association (ACDA), is a sociocultural organisation established to promote the interests of the Atyap people of Southern Kaduna, Nigeria. The organization, earlier known as the "Kataf Youth Development Association" (KYDA) was established in 1989, but later renamed in 2010 to its present name.
On March 11, 2023, armed bandits attacked the village of Ungwan Wakili in Zangon Kataf LGA, Kaduna State, Nigeria, killing seventeen people.
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