Ahmad Abdulrahman, Kaduna State Police Commissioner, has faulted Nasir el-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, for giving out wrong figures of the death toll in the attack at Kajuru Local Government Area.
At a press briefing on Thursday, Ahmad warned the governor against citing any figure until an investigation has been concluded to ascertain the number of those killed.
The settlements affected include Ruga Bahago, Ruga Daku, Ruga Ori, Ruga Haruna, Ruga Yukka Abubakar, Ruga Duni Kadiri, Ruga Shewuka and Ruga Shuaibu Yau.
The Commissioner of Police, stated that the Police were unaware of the attack “until when the Fulani themselves came out to tell us after we have secured the place in conjunction with the military, that they approached to accompany them to their hamlet in order to bury their dead relations.”
He continued: “I told the governor that figures in a crisis of this magnitude should be left until all investigations have been concluded and all the areas where we are getting information from are covered.
“You cannot come up with a figure otherwise you will quote a particular figure now and quote another later.
“This is what is happening now. As far as the police are concerned, we are investigating and the investigation is still in the embryonic stage, until the time we covered all the areas, we cannot quote any figure.
“The crisis occurred in a terrain that was full of hamlets, which were difficult to assess with our vehicles. We are still uncovering areas where nobody had visited. We are now at the stage of crisis management, which is very delicate.
“That is why nobody should stampede our investigation. If the governor tells you that the casualty figure is 200, he is just quoting figures.
“It could be more than that or less than that. For example, the place where 36 people were said to have been buried, was not at the purview of the security agencies at the commencement of the investigation.
“There was a mix-up in the assertion by the Fulani that the policemen took pictures of the corpses they buried one after another.”
CP Ahmad added that the military had to visit the place the bodies were buried aforehand due to the difficult terrain of the place.
“That very hamlet where they talked about burying 37 corpses was discovered by the military.
“The terrain was very terrible and we could not even identify areas affected by the crisis between February 10 and 11 when it started. So, no policeman went ahead of the military.
“It was the military that went there first to assist the native Fulani that were affected and help them bury their dead relatives.”
Commissioner of Police faults El Rufai claim on death rate
