Leaders of the three warring parties have decided to sheathe their swords as part of attempts to end the continuing communal hostilities between Atyap indigenous, Hausa and Fulani indigenes in Kaduna State’s Zangon Kataf Local Government Area (LGA).
The stakeholders made the determination on Friday during a meeting at Government House Kaduna with Governor Nasir El-Rufai and chiefs of security services, where a peace and reconciliation committee was formed with representatives from the Atyap, Hausa, and Fulani communities as members.
A peace reconciliation committee was formed at the conference, including representatives from the Atyap, Hausa, and Fulani groups as members, with the goal of resolving all outstanding concerns and hostilities within one week for gazetting by the Kaduna State Government.
Over the years, land disputes between Atyap natives, Hausas and Fulanis in Zangon Kataf LGA of Kaduna State have resulted in a deadly conflict between the groups, with community leaders pointing accusing fingers at one another.
Hundreds of lives and property worth millions of naira have also been lost in the over-two-decade conflict.
With days to the end of his tenure, El-Rufai met with the representatives of the Atyap, Hausa and Fulani communities, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the lingering communal clashes in Southern Kaduna.
The meeting, which included heads of security agencies and observers from some international organisations working on the peacekeeping effort, was part of the last push by the El-Rufai administration to resolve the intractable crises rocking various communities in the southern zone of the state.
Among the issues discussed during the meeting was the need for all parties to lay down their arms and return to the negotiating table, a suggestion that was welcomed by all the leaders.