2011 Post-Election Violence In Kaduna Will Be Child’s Play Compared To 2015 – NHRC Warns

2011-Post-Election-ViolenceThe National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, has warned that Southern Kaduna will witness yet another round of election violence in 2015 if preventive measures are not taken.

Chairman of the commission, Chidi Odinkalu, who was reacting to submissions by stakeholders in Kafanchan, Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, noted that the 2015 election violence would be worse than that of the post-election violence in 2011 that claimed several innocent lives in some parts of northern Nigeria following the announcement of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as winner of the presidential poll.

According to Odinkalu, stakeholders must truly sit down for genuine reconciliation to avert the looming danger.

Odinkalu said the commission was planning to organise a community-based reconciliation and forgiveness initiative if the warring communities would agree.

This initiative, he claimed, would prevent the 2015 violence in the area (Southern Kaduna).

The Chairman, who further warned the stakeholders, which included traditional rulers and religious leaders, to be sincere in their handling of disputes in the area, insisted that the 2011 post-election violence would be nothing compared to that of 2015.

“If the communities here are willing, we are prepared but we want to test the water. We should work and stop polluting the land with too many people, who don’t deserve to die” he said.

“Everybody talks about 2011 post-election violence. Southern Kaduna has a lot of strategic significance in Nigeria and people, who are experts in strategic studies”, Odinkalu added.