Kaduna: Hunters decry arrest of members as thugs

From Femi Oyelola Kaduna

Hunters in Kaduna North Local Government Area have called on Kaduna State Government to stop using their members to blackmail their political opponents in the state.
The leader of the group, Usman Mohammed made the call while speaking to the media in Kaduna on Monday.
According to him, they are only performing their legitimate work as hunters without affiliation to any group or political party.
“We were invited to a meeting at the office of the Special Adviser to Governor El-Rufai on Islamic Matters, Namadi Musa not too long ago, and were told that the government is willing to partner with us especially in area of tackling Sara-Suka and to empower us to be self-realiance”, he said.
Mohammed added that as a leader, he saw this as a development because the group – Sara-suka is becoming a threat to peace and harmony in Kaduna metropolis.
“So we mobilized our members for the meeting at the said office. After the discussion our contacts and phone numbers were collected and we were told to standby.
“Surprisingly after some weeks have passed, we learnt that our members were being traced to their homes and picked up by security agents where they were taken into custody, beaten black and blue.
“After torturing our members they were asked to write a statement indicting some prominent politicians in the state especially those perceived to be enemies of the government in power.
“As a leader, I went to the Special Adviser to Governor El-Rufai on Islamic Matters, Namadi Musa’s office to complain and inform him that all the people whose contacts and numbers were collected, some have been picked up.
“It is then he revealed to me that those members who attended the meeting in his office were thugs working for opponents of the government. This is surprising to me, because all of my life, I have been a local hunter selling my games to people.
“Local hunters are not thugs. Let me say here categorically that we are not being sponsored by anybody to work against the State Government, therefore, our members still under custody should be released and allowed to practice their inherited trade without hindrance,” he said.