17 days after arrest of 15 southern Kaduna community leaders SOKAPU seeks freedom for detained leaders

After 17 days in custody, officials of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) have called on security operatives and the state government to release the 15 Atyap community leaders detained without trial. SOKAPU said among those detained is an 85-year-old woman, whose health is failing, four village heads and youth leaders.

A statement issued by SOKAPU spokesman, Luka Binniyat, partly read: “It is over 17 days today that 15 Atyap Community leaders in Atyap Chiefdom, Zangon Kataf Local Government Area (LGA), in Southern part of Kaduna State have been detained without trial. They were tricked into a meeting by military officers of Operation Safe Haven on March 31 2021 at the Headquarters of Operation Safe Haven, close to Kafanchan, Jemaa LGA, Kaduna State.

“After four agonising days of torture in the hands of the military, they were later transferred to the Kafanchan Police Area Command.

Again, they suffered brutal detention in the hands of the police between April 3 and 9, 2021, and were never arraigned before any court of law.

“These leaders, who had gone on the invitation of the soldiers, so that a way forward could be found over the incessant invasions, killings and arson of Atyap communities, were again transferred to Kaduna State Police Force Headquarters, where they are now held at the Kabala West police Station, Kaduna, as tension continues to swell in Atyap land over the sufferings they are being subjected to…” (The Guardian)