Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has called on the House of Representatives Committee on Army to investigate the alleged killing of 11 Fulanis in Kaduna State.
This comes after a Daily Trust report where the Fulani of Tulde Fulbe, Ladduga Grazing Reserve in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State accused the Nigerian Army of killing 11 of their men after arresting them.
The report said 11 “decomposing corpses of Fulani from Tulde Fulbe, Ladduga Grazing Reserve in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State were on Monday discovered in a forest located near an area called ‘Crossing’ within the local government area”, adding that the corpses “were identified by relatives and community members as those of the Fulani allegedly arrested by soldiers in the area at different times”.
Citing the Daily Trust report, MURIC, in a statement on Wednesday, 17th January 2024, demanded full investigation into the alleged extra-judicial killing.
The statement, signed by the Executive Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said, “The fact that their bodies were identified by relatives and community members as those of the Fulani allegedly arrested by soldiers in the area at different times lends credence to the allegation. This is more than a cock and bull story.
“All the eleven victims were identified as Safiyanu Adamu, Abdulkadir Idris, Akilu Abdullahi, Ibrahim Abubakar, Magaji Umar, Said Saleh, Abdulaziz Yusuf, Ibrahim Sani, Musa Dan Asabe, Nura Yusuf and Nuru Magaji. They were said to have been arrested by soldiers.”
MURIC said it strongly condemns the profiling of the Fulani in certain areas of Nigeria and denounces the “targeted killing of the Fulani race”.
“It smirks of racial cleansing, unwarranted stigmatization and wanton tribal bigotry. Extra-judicial killing of Fulanis in particular is a vicious infringement on their Allah-given fundamental human rights to life and freedom of movement as guaranteed in Section 41(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” MURIC said.
“Whereas the section referred to above says, inter alia, ‘Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof…’, the Fulani are hounded from pillar to post. From the South East to the South West, from the plateau to the forests of Kaduna, nowhere is safe for the Fulani race,” it said.
Invoking Article 14 Section 2(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which states that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”, MURIC asked the Federal Government to protect the Fulani who, the group said, “have become an endangered specie throughout the country”.
MURIC charged the House of Representatives Committee on the Army to wade into the alleged killing, saying that the people deserve to enjoy the freedom promised by the politicians during the campaigns.
“Where are the House members from Kaduna State? We call them out loud and clear. The extra-judicial killing of eleven Fulanis of Tulde Fulbe, Ladduga Grazing Reserve in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State must be fully investigated and the culprits brought to book,” the group said.
