Nigerian Govt Bars Journalists From Visiting Villages Left Empty By Bandit Attacks
The Kaduna State Government under Governor Uba Sani has reportedly instructed security agencies to bar journalists without official clearance from accessing villages deserted after bandit attacks.
The directive is believed to have followed a report by Kaduna-based journalist Luka Binniyat of Truth Nigeria, which the government considered unfavourable.
Binniyat’s reports and video recordings contradicted the government’s narrative on its peace deal with bandits and its claims that displaced residents had returned to their ancestral homes. He was said to have visited the abandoned Kujeni community in Kajuru and other affected areas in Chikun Local Government Area.
In one instance, an investigative journalist attempting to visit deserted communities in Kajuru, Chikun and Birnin Gwari LGAs to assess the effectiveness of the widely promoted “Kaduna Peace Model” was stopped by security personnel after they spotted his camera and other equipment.
Security operatives manning checkpoints in Kajuru LGA insisted he could only proceed with clearance from the Government House. It later emerged that access is primarily granted to journalists considered friendly and whose work aligns with government public relations efforts.
Despite the rudeness of the security operatives, the investigative journalist took risks and accessed some areas.
It was reviewed one of Binniyat’s videos in which he criticised the Kaduna State Government, noting that the situation in Kujeni community, Kajuru LGA, reflects a grim reality. He referenced the decision taken two years ago by Governor Uba Sani, with the support of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to pardon Fulani bandits accused of years of killings and kidnappings targeting ethnic Christians in the state.
Binniyat argued that although the government claims the pardon and subsequent concessions improved security and community welfare, his findings indicate that victims in the affected areas remain in dire conditions, with no meaningful assistance reaching them.
Binniyat, in a video, described how communities in Kaduna were abandoned following attacks by bandits.
He said, “Where I am right now is a village, once a very prosperous village, that belonged to the Adara ethnic nationality, who are basically Christians.
“The name of this place is called Kujeni and is in Kajuru County in Kaduna State. This place is part of the Middle Belt because they identified as the ethnic Christians of Northern Nigeria, following the Middle Belt. It is impossible to imagine the life that was here.
“These people have been living here peacefully for centuries. Around me, though you can see some ruins still standing, this used to be a very dense community, highly populated with schools, churches, playgrounds, and everything that would make a village community happy. But today, you wouldn’t believe that there were ever structures here.
“What the villagers do now, after they have been chased out several times, until they could no longer hold to defend themselves, they had to leave the village.”
“The ones that you may be seeing around just come around to tend to the farm produce that they farmed during the rainy season. Luckily for them, the Fulani herdsmen, who have been their perpetual tormentors, have not eaten up these crops like we have seen in other places,” he said.
Binniyat noted that Kujeni is about 80 miles southwest of Kaduna metropolis, and lamented that it is “now an empty space”.
“It is not only this place,” he added.
He continued, “Coming here is quite a big security challenge. We had to pass through a lot of military checkpoints on the way. We had to persuade them to leave us.
“Apart from that, there are many other communities. In fact, from what has been listed to us, there are over 52 of these communities. And they include Kujeni Dutse, Kwakwari, Kakuku, Ongwom Puda, Ongwom Adaki, Ongwom Baride.
“I’ve been to Ongwom Baride. It was the first place that the Fulanis launched attack in 2019 and killed 11 people. The place has been sacked now.
“There is also Gindin-Gada, there is Itisi, there is Ivana Turu, among many others. These are largely Christian communities that have been displaced. We heard that, of course it is true, that the governor of Kaduna state, Gubasani, had granted these bandits, these Fulani herdsmen, the armed militia of the Fulani wing, what he called state pardon and amnesty.
“And in fact, integrated them into society by rehabilitating them, including complete medicare for the so-called repentant bandits. But as villagers, we tell them, there is nothing like repentance among them because they have not been able to return to their homes. Almost two years since Governor Uba Sani granted them that amnesty.
“So the villagers are very excited with the announcement by Trump that Nigeria is now a country of concern. So I have come here to make on-the-spot assessment. If it is true what government have been claiming, that the amnesty granted the bandits has resulted to the return of displaced villagers.
“There is nothing like that. There is no welfare for them. There is still no sufficient security for them.”
In response, it was learnt that the government has engaged politicians to visit the same areas Binniyat reported on, aiming to challenge his claims and defend the administration. Many of these politicians have already begun publicly addressing his reports.
