The Kaduna State Government has confirmed yet another attack by gunmen in Runji village of Zangon Kataf Local Government Area.
The government said several people were killed in the Saturday attack.
The confirmation was issued Sunday morning by Samuel Aruwan – the state’s commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs.
Mr Aruwan said the military informed the Kaduna State Government of the attack.
He, however, said details of the exact casualties will be provided later in a subsequent briefing as security operatives are still at the scene of the attack.
“The preliminary report further informed the government that the attack also left some residents injured and an unspecified number of houses burnt down in the community.
“According to the report, troops had a fierce encounter with the attackers and are still in the general area.
“While waiting for a detailed report, Governor Nasir El-Rufai who received the preliminary report in the early hours of Sunday has condemned the killings as unacceptable and unjustifiable.
“The governor condoled the families that lost their loved ones and prayed for the repose of the victims’ souls. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
“The Kaduna State Government will update the public on the incident as soon as detailed reports are received from the security agencies.
Saturday’s attack was the second in a week in the local government.
The President of Atyap Community Development Association, a community-based organization in the area, Sam Timbuwak, said the initial killings occurred on Thursday at the Atak’Njei community.
He said the gunmen invaded the community from a nearby bush and began a shooting spree, killing eight people in the process.
Zangon Kataf in Southern Kaduna is one of the areas being terrorised by non-state actors.
Thousands of people have been killed or kidnapped in Kaduna in recent years by various armed groups. The killings have continued despite the efforts of security forces.
CPJ condemns conviction of two journalists for alleged defamation
The Committee to Protect Journalists, COJ, a non-profit organisation that focuses on promoting press freedom worldwide, has condemned the trial and conviction of two Nigerian journalists for defamation.
In a statement dated 14 April, the CPJ said the two Nigerian journalists – Gidado Shuaib and Alfred Olufemi – “should never have been charged, let alone convicted, for publishing an investigative report about a factory.”
It said their conviction “sends a chilling message to the Nigerian press and highlights the urgent need for authorities to reform the country’s laws and ensure journalism is not criminalised.”
A magistrate’s court in Ilorin, Kwara State, on 7 February, convicted the journalists for publishing a defamatory article against Hillcrest Agro-Allied Industries Limited.
In the contested publication published by an online platform, News Digest, the article said Hillcrest Agro-Allied Industries Limited, a firm located at Kilometre 4, Ajase-Ipo along Offa Road, Amberi Village, Kwara State, allowed its staff members to smoke Indian hemp freely.
A.S Muhammad, the trial magistrate, said in the verdict that “the defendants had a common intention in publishing” the damaging article “and must have intended the natural consequences.”
Mr Muhammad further ruled that “the elements of defamation have been established by the prosecution.”
The magistrate sentenced the journalists to two months imprisonment with an option of N40,000 fine on one of the two counts preferred against them – the offence of conspiracy.
He sentenced each of them to a fine of N60,000 on the count of defamation or three months imprisonment in default of payment.
The magistrate clarified that “each of the convicts is to pay a fine of N100,000 only for the offences of conspiracy and defamation respectively, having been convicted.”
The journalists have since paid the fine.
Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, from New York, quoted in the organisation’s statement also condemned the method of bringing the journalists to custody.
The CPJ recalled that before the charges were filed, police leveraged their access to call data and briefly detained a News Digest web developer and at least two other journalists in their efforts to locate the journalists.
“The telecom surveillance used to bring the journalists into custody, followed by a more than three-year-long trial, demonstrates the lengths Nigerian authorities will go to arrest and prosecute the press,” Ms Quintal said.
