Kaduna Crisis, Death Toll Rises To 12

The Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Austin Iwar, said on Tuesday 18 suspects have been arrested and 12 people confirmed dead in the three- hour crisis that engulfed Kasuwan Magani town, Kajuru local government area of the state on Monday.

Addressing journalists after a fact- finding and assessment visit to the area, the police commissioner vowed that no stone would be left unturned in unraveling the immediate and remote causes of the crisis.

Iwar, who was at the village alongside other top security chiefs including the General Officer Commanding, 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Major Gen. Mohammed Mohammed and the state Commandant of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Modu Goni, expressed shock at the scales of destruction.

He said: “It is us fortunate. As we can see the level of destruction is very high. Some people were killed and properties destroyed. This is not what we wished for our state, Kaduna.

“Let me say that we will not leave any stone unturned in investigating the remote and the immediate causes of this problem. We will talk to the stakeholders here and try to find out what is the problem and through civil problem solving approach and conflict resolution, we will deal with that. We will also look at the criminal aspect of it.

“So far, we have arrested 18 people that we suspect were involved in the crisis. We are working round the clock to ensure that we get to the root of the matter. We have recovered a number of dangerous items, including petrol bombs. We believe this is a planned thing and we will get to the root of the matter. We will do a thorough investigation to ensure that it does not happen again.”