Memories and impact of the 5th of August attack by armed men of Fulani ethnicity on Apiashyim and Kibori villages in Zangon Atyap (Kataf) Local Government Area still lingers.
Six people died and 20 homes were burnt down in Apiashyim, and nine people were killed in Kibori village on that fateful day of the attack. The attackers reportedly proceeded to Magamiya and unleash mayhem in the wee hours of 6th August without a reprimand.
Among survivors of the attack was the family of Aboi in Kibori whose complete household was burnt down to ashes. One of the surviving children in the family Michael Mbason who chatted with TNG seems hopeless while narrating the damage caused by the Fulani militia which he termed as very devastating.
The biological father of Michael Mbason, Mr Michael Aboi was killed alongside his two grandchildren. One of the grandchildren is severely injured and is currently receiving treatment. “….we have been referred to Kaduna Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital….” Mbason said. “….we were referred by the Zonkwa General Hospital to Kaduna to proceed for the treatment, the boy is just 11 years old and he suffered lots of injuries, he could have been killed if not that he scamper for safety..” Mbason added.
Asked on the extent of the damage, Mbason said the entire house, housing his extended family has been burnt down by the attackers leaving survivors in the family to the only option of squatting with relations in neighboring villages and the state capital. He called on the government of Kaduna State to intervene objectively in the ongoing Fulani herdsmen onslaught in Southern Kaduna and see to the end of violence in the region.
TNG also reach out to the ward councilor of Zaman-Dabo Ward, Mr. Cleophas Yohanna who stated that there is a deliberate attempt by Fulani ethnic group to secure a space in the Atyap land which is not possible. “the event of June 5 made them guilty. After Killing Yusuf Magaji son of a pastor over a piece of farmland. On noticing that the Atyap people discovered the corps of Magaji, they started running away knowing what will follow, even after we pleaded they should not leave, they ran away only to return and attack us, this is not fare…..” Yohanna said.
The Fulani Militia according to residents of Magamiya, Kibori and Kurmin Masara sought mercenaries as reinforcement before laying siege on Atyap land.
At the moment, a twenty-four-hour curfew has been imposed in the entire local government as well as the deployment of the Nigerian Army special forces to tame further attacks and reprisals in the area.