SABON GERO, an agrarian community, is a village on the outskirts of Kaduna’s New Millennium City in Chikun Local Government Area. It is one of the old farming settlements from which the state government has carved out lands for mass housing as part of the Millennium City projects.
Development of buildings in the entire area has been under close monitoring by agencies of the state government to prevent encroachment into the lands set aside for the Millennium City projects
It was however reported last Monday that operatives of Kaduna State Vigilance Service (KADVS), a state owned security outfit, who were on escort mission to Sabon Gero for demolition of buildings by Kaduna Urban Planning and Development Agency (KASUPDA), opened fire on defencelss citizens, majority of whom were young women and children.
It was reported that 12 persons were hit by the KADVS bullets, but fortunately, all of them survived the gunshot injuries.
Our correspondent, who visited the community on Thursday evening, was told by some of the recuperating survivors that both KADVS and KASUPDA were on a mission to kill people in their community.
One of the survivors, Rukkaiya Umar, said she was sent on an errand and was just passing by when the incident occurred. She said: “Unlike others, I was not even here from the beginning. I was not at the scene to watch the demolition exercise. I was just passing by when the shooting started,
“I was just unlucky to be hit by a bullet. I was sent on errand by my mum and I had got to where I was going. As I set my right foot into the house, the bullet hit my second leg.
“I fell down immediately and I started shouting. That was how people got to know that I was affected.
“We were evacuated after the people that shot at us had run away. We were taken to the police station and from there to the Hospital for treatment. “I had never felt the kind of pain I felt on that day in my life. But we thank God we survived it.”
For Zainab Sani who was hit by a bullet in the forehead, the culprits were on a mission to kill the residents. But she said that what is not clear to them is why a security outfit that was supposed to protect their lives would want them dead.
Zainab said: “We did not see the bad incident coming because it was not the first time buildings would be demolished. If not directly in our community, at least we had witnessed it elsewhere. “So, we were not scared to go and watch the KASUPDA officials carry out the demolition.
“Yes, we saw them (KASUPDA officials) accompanied by armed operatives of KADVS, but we had no reason to be scared since we are not criminals and the operatives are not after innocent citizens.
“But we were proven wrong as the KADVS operatives opened fired on us.
“So, for me, their mission was to come and kill us. What we do not understand is why we have to die by the bullets of security operatives, who are supposed to protect us.
“We had not carried arms to attack them and did not stop them from carrying out the demolition. In fact, we don’t have the capability to do so.
“If you look at us, the majority of us hit by the bullets are young women and children. How could we have prevented them from carrying out their duty?
“We want government to punish those who are responsible for this dangerous and bloody mission, because we could just have been killed.”
Narrating her own ordeal, Rukayya Lawal, who secured a bullet wound in the forehead and close to her left eye, said she thought that was going to be the end of her life.
She said: “I was hawking when the incident occurred. Immediately the bullet hit me, I felt cold in my forehead. I didn’t even know it was a bullet that hit me until I saw blood gushing out of my forehead. Then the pain came later.
“Before we got to the hospital from the police station where we were first taken to, the pain had become severe, and I thought that was going to be the end.
“I thought the bullet had entered my brain. But I thank God we were treated and I am now fine.”
Hafsat Muhammad, 17, is also one of the survivors who was hit twice in the leg by the alleged KADVS bullets.
She said: “I was at home on that day. It was a public holiday to celebrate Democracy Day, so we were all at home.
“All of a sudden, I started hearing noise in the community. I came out and I saw one of my friends, then we decided to go and catch a glimpse of what was happening.
“On getting to the village centre, we saw officials of KASUPDA demolishing a newly constructed shop.
“They finished the demolition and wanted to move to another place to demolish another structure.
“All of a sudden, we saw the KADVS operatives that followed the KASUPDA officials shooting for no reason. Then, I saw a girl close to me fall down, and before I could turn around, I was hit by bullets too.
“Immediately, I felt like my leg was no longer part of my body. I could not walk with the leg again because it became too heavy for me to carry.
“I was carried on a bike and supported by someone behind to prevent me from falling down. We were taken to the Millennium City Police Station first before we were taken to the hospital.
“It was when we got to the hospital that I realised that those of us hit by bullets were actually many.
“While we waited at the police station, I was in pains and a lot was going through my mind. I was praying to God that my leg would not be cut off because of this.
“But we were lucky; nothing bad happened to any of us. We all survived it.
“After the bullets were removed from my leg, I felt so relieved and the pain started disappearing.”
A brother to the owner of the demolished property, Aminu Suleiman, said the property was built because of him, to help him recover from the loss he suffered when the state government demolished Ungwan Rimi Market for reconstruction.
Suleiman, who claimed to have had nine shops in the demolished Ungwan Rimi Market, said: “I am the brother to the owner of the demolished property, and I am the reason he decided to build this property here.
“My brother saw my predicament. I am trader. I had nine shops in Ungwan Rimi Market before it was demolished for rebuilding, and since I could not afford to buy one of the new shops built by the government, my brother decided to buy a piece of land and build two shops here for me to use one for my trading.
“We made several attempts, followed due process to get the building permit. We took our drawing to KASUPDA but we were told that the officer in charge of this area was on suspension.
“It was in the course of our tour of KASUPDA that a member of the staff told us that we should just go and continue building.
“But when a new official was appointed for the area, he came and met us at the site and we explained all our previous efforts to him.
“But he insisted that he would punch the building, and we allowed him with agreement that when work resumed on Tuesday, since Monday was going to be public holiday to celebrate June 12, we would meet him in the office for further discussion.
“But to our surprise, on Monday June 12, which was supposed to be a public holiday, I received a phone call from one of the members of the community that our building had been demolished.
“I didn’t believe it until I arrived this place and saw it. I felt like the whole world had collapsed on my head, because I feel I am being targeted for ruin by agents of the Kaduna State Government.
“I don’t know where to turn to again. My business was ruined in the city because of the upgrade of the market, I decided to move to the rural area to do small business and now the opportunity is ruined again.
“The most painful aspect of the situation is that, after destroying our building, the security operatives from KADVS opened fire on children and women.
“Even if we cannot do anything about the demolition of our property, the attack on innocent women and children should not go unpunished.”
Speaking further on the incident, the
youth leader and Chairman of the Sabon Gero Community’s Vigilante Group, Uwaisu Yunusa, explained how the community and the police saved the survivors’ lives, saying that there was no justification for shooting innocent citizens in an attempt to demolish a building.
Yunusa said: “I was in the farm not too far from the community when I started hearing sound of gunshots. So, I rushed down.
“On entering the community, I met a block of two shops constructed by a member of the community already demolished.
“I was made to understand that the building was demolished by officials of KASUPDA, who were accompanied by men of Kaduna State Vigilance Service (KADVS).
“After demolishing the building, the KADVS operatives just opened fire on the children and young ladies who were gathered by the side to watch the demolition.
“It was the sound of gunshots that alerted many of the community members to come out to the scene.
“It was an ugly incident. Imagine, this thing happened in broad daylight, around 1:30 pm on that fateful day.
“We don’t understand what warranted this demolition in the first place, because this place is a village, but the government attention has been here for a long time.
“The government, through the Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS), had marked the community land, taken parts of the community land and left us with space for our future expansion. So, we know the boundary between us and the land taken by the government.
“The land on which this block of shops was constructed is the community land and not on the side of the government, yet KASUPDA came to demolish it.
“Even if you have to demolish for whatever reason, what is the justification for shooting our innocent children?
“What we want now is for the government to protect the rights of our children who were shot by the KADVS operatives. We were only lucky that none of the children died.
“Immediately the incident happened and the KADVS operatives zoomed off with the KASUPDA officials who carried out the demolition, I called the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Millennium City and reported the incident to him.
“He asked me to immediately bring those who sustained gunshot injuries and we took them there.
“From the Police Station, the DPO directed that some policemen take us to the hospital with their vehicle, so that the children would be attended to since hospitals would not agree to treat anyone with gunshot injuries except with police report.
“The effort of the police saved us a lot, because with their assistance, the hospital quickly attended to the survivors and removed the bullets from their bodies.
“Now all the 12 people are back at home. We thank God.”
Governor Uba Sani, in a statement issued through his Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Lawal Shehu, ordered full investigation into the matter and called on all parties in the matter to remain calm and law abiding while the investigation is being carried out.
The statement reads: “Kaduna State Governor, His Excellency Senator Uba Sani, has ordered a full investigation into the alleged shooting in Sabon Gero community in Chikun Local Government Area by the men of the Kaduna Vigilance Service (KADVS), who were trying to push back residents attempting to stop the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA) from carrying out demolitions in the community.
“The Governor expressed deep concern about the incident and directed the relevant authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the facts of the matter and ensure that justice is served.
“The Governor who also reiterates his commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all citizens, said the development negates the SAFETY AND SECURITY agenda of the SUSTAIN manifesto of his administration.
“He however calls on all parties to remain calm and law-abiding as the investigation is carried out.
“The Governor further emphasised that his administration is committed to upholding the rule of law and will not tolerate any action that violates the rights of citizens or undermines the peace and security of the state.
“He calls on all residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities.”
At press time, officials of the KADVS were still preparing a press statement to state their side of the story on the Monday incident.
One of them, who asked not to be quoted, said the community people lied about the shooting allegation saying that some youths from the community were the ones that fired gunshots at KADVS operatives and KASUPDA officials.
“As I speak with you, some of our operatives who were stoned and shot are still receiving treatment,” the KADVS official said.