Herdsmen killed 808 people, destroyed 1,422 houses in Southern Kaduna - Catholic Church

808 people have been allegedly killed by Fulani herdsmen in southern Kaduna, the Catholic church has claimed

-The church has also asked the people of the region to be steadfast in their belief in God

Herdsmen killed 808 people, destroyed 1,422 houses in Southern Kaduna, Church says

The Catholic diocese of Kafanchan, Kaduna state has claimed that the rampage of herdsmen in Southern Kaduna has claimed 808 lives while 1,422 houses have been destroyed, Premium Times reports.

The vicar-general of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kafanchan, Ibrahim Yakubu stated this alongside some other clerics in Kaduna.

According to him, along with the lives lost, 16 Churches, 19 shops, one car and one primary school has also been destroyed by the rampaging herdsmen.

Yakubu, who berated efforts to distort the real truth by what he described as a "faceless group" known as 'Concerned Southern Kaduna Muslims', said:  

It is therefore worrisome to us when a faceless group known as Concerned Southern Kaduna Muslims seek to distort the facts by way of twisting and misrepresenting the account to put the minority Muslims of Southern Kaduna as the victims while the Christian majority are the aggressors.

“This is far from the truth! All the violence that took place in Southern Kaduna, hardly was any masterminded by the indigenes. Or how could you explain the importation of heavily armed militia to prosecute the war on behalf of the Fulani? 

“The mere presence of this killer squad is enough evidence and indictment of the Fulani as the masterminds of these crises.

The cleric however calls on the people of Southern Kaduna to be firm in the trust in God.

“We call on Southern Kaduna indigenes to remain steadfast in prayer, united, strong and never to cave in to the antics of our adversaries. Tribe and denominational differences shouldn’t put a chasm between us.

“Let us remain focused and vigilant. St Peter admonishes us to “be alert, be on the watch! Your enemy the devil roams round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Be firm in your faith and resist him, because you know that your fellow believers in all the world are going through the same kind of sufferings,” he said.

Meanwhile, the church has also claimed that the fight against the people of Southern Kaduna is a jihad which is well-funded even as it claimed that the herdsmen are not different from Boko Haram terrorists.