* How Senator Nenadi’s husband escaped death in Kaduna

From ISMAIL OMIPIDAN, Kaduna

In the North, one of the usual greetings extended to traditional rulers is Mai martaba, which means the untouchable. But on Friday, January 3, 2014, the Emir of Jere was not only touched; he was beaten black and blue by some of his subjects over land.

The emir, Dr. Sa’ad Usman, 72, is a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) in Kaduna State and husband to a serving Senator. His wife, Senator Nenadi Usman, is a former Commissioner and former Finance Minister, now representing Kaduna South Senatorial District at the Senate.

But for a Good Samaritan that was said to have rushed him to the hospital, Dr. Usman would have probably died, following the beating he received from his subjects in the first week of a New Year. And at the time of filing this report, the emir is still receiving medical attention.

There has always been a deep-seated animosity between those who see themselves as original inhabitants of most parts of Southern Kaduna and the Hausa Community, who they regard as settlers. Often, the issue of who should be the custodian of the land has always been at the centre of most of the violent clashes in parts of the state. Religion is also played up if those involved profess different faiths. Land matter, was incidentally, at the centre of this latest fracas too.

Jere, in Kagarko Local Government, is strategically located between Kaduna and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. The federal government recently opened up the area with the construction of a rail track that would connect Abuja, reducing commuters’ journey between Kaduna and Abuja by about 20 minutes. And because there is little difference these days between Bwari Area Council in FCT and Kagarko Council in Kaduna, due to their proximity, land speculators have invaded the area, thus making the place more attractive to developers. This might have been responsible for the desperation, as land has become a serious business in the area.

It was in the afternoon of the first Friday of January. One of the versions said the emir was on his way to Abuja when he saw a large army of youths from his domain gathered in the area. His attempt to find out what was happening was allegedly met with stiff resistance. He was subsequently attacked and left in the pool of his blood, after his security aides, including the policeman attached to him, had fled.

According to the Gbagyi community, which spoke through Mr. Ayuba Daro Kakarka, the contentious piece of land, located on the new Jere-Bwari-Abuja Road, belonged to one of them, by name Ayuba Barde.

He further said:  “Barde was on his farm land about 3:30pm that day when Dr. Sa’ad Usman, who was on his way to Jere from Abuja, saw Barde, clearing his farm. The Chief stopped and ordered him to come over.”

“Barde did not know who was in the jeep, so he refused to obey the order. The Chief, out of anger, came out of his jeep with his three aides, including his police orderly and went to meet with Barde. When they got closer to Barde, the chief slapped Barde on his face and said ‘you are soon going to prison.’

“So, Barde slapped the chief in self-defence and began to move away. The police orderly of the chief opened fire at Barde and shot him on his arm, with one bullet, piercing through the upper side of his shoulder.

“Barde fell down and got up. At that point the policeman, with the other two aides, fled. Barde, in self-defence hit the chief with whatever he could lay his hands on.  He was later discovered in the pool of his blood. The truth is that had the chief not gone to Barde’s farm, no such thing would have happened.”

He accused the emir of “continuous and unlawful confiscation of Gbagyi natives’ land,” adding that “it is a well-known fact that the Chief of Jere had for long formed the habit of confiscating lands from Gbagyi natives in Jere Chiefdom with impunity. This insatiable greed of the chief has led to many complaints at the Jere Police Station, the Police Headquarters in Kaduna and in many different law courts.”

Kakarka further revealed that Barde and others had sued the chief at the Kafanchan High Court, in a suit No. KDH/KAF/135/215, adding that in spite of the lawsuit, the emir has continued to annex the lands and sell them.

The community also pointed fingers at the Chairman of Kagarko Local Government, Mr. Danjuma Akuso, who incidentally, is one of them, for “always creating crisis in the area by taking sides with the Chief of Jere in victimising, threatening and harassing the Gbagyi people in the area.

“We have come to the understanding that there is a technical annihilation agenda of the Gbagyi race by Jere Traditional Council with direct collaboration of Akuso,” Kakarka, further claimed.

Hausa/Fulani youths have threatened to carry out a reprisal on the Gbagyi community if the law does not take its full course.

But in a swift reaction, the Jere Traditional Council has described as lies the narration of the Gbagyi community.

Speaking on behalf of the chiefdom, the secretary, Alhaji Aliyu Zubairu, revealed that a case was already pending in court over ownership of the contentious piece of land at the Kafanchan High Court.

He said further: “Pursuant to the case before a Kafanchan High Court between Ayuba Barde and 11 others against Dr Sa’ad Usman, Sarkin Jere, the plaintiff, who are Gbagyi farmers are laying claims to a farmland situated on Jere/Kagarko Road, in the North, and Chinka Village in the East and Jere/Bwari Road in the middle and Dnako River in the South and Issah Village by the West of Jere Chiefdom. They claimed to have inherited the farmland from their fore bearers.”

“On Friday, January 3, the Chief of Jere, Dr. Sa’ad Usman, was on his way to Abuja through the new Jere/Bwari Abuja Road where he saw a gathering of Gbagyi youths stopping him.

“He, therefore, ordered his driver to stop and address them. In disrespect to His Royal Highness, one Ayuba Daro Kakaraka shouted down Dr. Usman, and thus attracted his driver and police orderly. The Gbagyi youths descended on them and the police orderly fired a shot into the air to disperse them but the Gbagyis mobilised and brought out weapons, injured the driver and police orderly, wounding them on their heads and forcibly collected the police orderly’s gun. The chief was attacked and injured. He had deep cuts on his head, neck and back and he lost blood and became unconscious.

“He was, however, rushed to Sabon Wuse General Hospital, Niger State, by a Good Samaritan for treatment. It was at the hospital after identifying him, that they quickly informed the chiefdom of his whereabouts.

“By the time the news spread around Jere and environs, the youths had mobilised themselves for a reprisal attack. However, the elders of Jere community stopped them from taking the law into their hands,” he added.

Dismissing the allegations by the Gbagyi community that the traditional ruler was confiscating their land, Zubairu further said the royal father “has never tampered with even his family land, let alone the properties, belonging to his subjects. He has landed property he purchased and certificated by various land authorities.” He appealed to the authorities to arrest the perpetrators of the attack on the royal father.

Also speaking, Kagarko Council Chairman, who also doubles as the state chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Akuso Danjuma, accused the Gbagyi community of being responsible for the attack on the traditional ruler. He asserted that the court had since ruled in favour of the traditional ruler on the land dispute,

He dismissed Barde’s claims that the attack on the emir was in self-defence, adding that the emir only pulled over to inquire what bulldozers were doing on the contentious land before the fracas broke out.

“The issue was taken to court, and the Chief of Jere has the Certificate of Occupancy of this piece of land way back during the time of Kachia Local Government, even before Kagarko was created.

“He presented all his facts in the court. They also presented their own facts and based on that, the court gave judgment in favour of the Chief of Jere. As far as I’m concerned and as far as the records are concerned and the right way of doing things is concerned, this land by law has been confirmed to be owned by the Chief of Jere,” he added.

He said the community leaders had to persuade the youths against reprisals on the Gbagyi community.

Following the attack, the Kaduna State Police Commissioner, Mr. Olufemi Adenaike, has since confirmed the arrest of 14 persons in connection with the incident. He said the incident was an “attempted murder,” adding that all those arrested would remain in custody until the traditional ruler and all the principal actors are medically fit to appear in court.

But already, 19 of the detainees have been released, while two are still in detention. The two detainees, it was further gathered, would be arraigned in court for attempted murder.

Meanwhile, the Governor of Kaduna State, Mukhtar Yero, has ordered a full-scale investigation into the attack on the traditional ruler, even as he vowed that perpetrators would be brought to justice.


Source: Sun