Kaduna crisis: Judiciary delaying prosecution of offenders -El-Rufai

From Mohammed Ibrahim Kaduna

As government intensifies efforts to bring lasting peace to the troubled Kaduna state, Governor Nasir El Rufai has lamented delays in court prosecution process.
He said the slow pace prosecution in the courts was not palatable.
This is just as he disclosed that, 22 people lost their lives during the last crisis that occurred on Sunday in the state while 44 others sustained injuries.
The governor who vowed to prosecute the perpetrators of the crisis, said several properties were also damaged within Kaduna metropolis during the crisis.
EL-Rufai stated this during the emergency meeting of the State Council of Chiefs at Government House yesterday.
The governor added that his administration is working with Kaduna State Police Command to establish a police division in Narayi and Sabon Tasha communities in the state.
He expressed gratitude to the police authorities for agreeing to establish a police division at Kasuwan Magani..
The governor vowed to enforce the various existing laws that impose costs on communities that permit violence in their midst, in order to curtail crises in the state.
He pointed out that there is a law that impose on community members to bear the cost of repairs of damage arising from crises in their communities.
El Rufai mentioned that the various provisions of the Riots Damage Laws of 1958, the Collective Damage Law of 1915 and the Peace Preservation Law of 1917 will henceforth be enforced.
“These laws impose on communities that permit violence in their midst, obliging community members to be charged and levied monies for the costs of repairing damage done during episodes of violence.“
El’rufai promised that his administration will provide details of the enforcement of these extant laws soon.
El Rufai also warned the royal fathers that government will no longer accept excuses from them when crises erupt in their domains.
“In situations of unrests, it is common for traditional rulers to disclaim any control over unruly youths.
“ It is an excuse we can no longer accept. Where significant sections of a community disdain the counsel or authority of their traditional ruler, it imperils the rationale for keeping the traditional institution and the occupant of the office “, he said.
According to him, ethno-religious clash first occurred in Kasuwan Magani in 1980 and that since them, it appears that a constituency has developed which believes that violence pays, and is convinced that violence has no consequences for the perpetrators.