Members of the House of Representatives from Southern Kaduna have raised the alarm over planned attacks by militias and armed herdsmen on communities during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.

The lawmakers said this while addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.

Leading the lawmakers, the Minority Whip of the House, Mr Gideon Gwani, while responding to questions from journalists, faulted Governor Nasir el-Rufai for allegedly refusing to recognise the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, stating that the people must enjoy their constitutional right of association.

The address was signed by the Minority Whip, Gideon Gwani, representing Kaura Federal Constituency; Nicholas Garba, Jema’a/Sanga Federal Constituency; Mukhtar Zakari, Kauru Federal Constituency; Gabriel Zock, Kachia/Kagarko Federal Constituency; and Amos Magaji Zagon Kataf/Jaba Federal Constituency.

Gwani said, “When it comes to the issue of the security personnel there, our people sometimes do feel that the security (forces) have not done enough. These are the reasons: when there is a curfew in an area, you still find attacks within the boundaries of our communities, especially those that border the forests.

“When there is a curfew, what happens is that we have security inside the main towns, meanwhile these attacks are not recorded in the main towns but at the periphery and boundaries of our communities. As such, that is one of the reasons sometimes our people feel that security is not doing enough.”

He added that people of Southern Kaduna now have the information that their attackers would come during the Sallah break. According to him, the attackers usually inform the communities of their intention to strike.

Gwani said, “We have told and informed the security agents. I have told my DPO (Divisional Police Officer) to extend that information to his superiors and he has taken that information seriously. But the attacks are still going on.

“So, it is important to know that we also have information that they are going to attack massively and ‘coordinatedly’ in Southern Kaduna during the Sallah break. We are calling on our people to be vigilant, and we are asking them to do all that they can to keep themselves alive. Without life, nothing can happen.”