The Adara Development Association (ADA) has called on the Nigerian government to address what it described as “renewed banditry and coordinated attacks” on Adara communities in Kaduna State.

In a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of the Association, Comrade Livinus Paul Jatau, the ADA said the situation in Kachia and Kajuru Local Government Areas had deteriorated into a “full-blown humanitarian crisis,” with hundreds of lives lost and entire communities displaced.

According to the ADA, the wave of violence began in 2016 and continued intermittently despite peace efforts.

The group claimed that between 2016 and 2023, more than 200 communities were attacked and displaced.

It also recalled the kidnapping and murder of the Adara Paramount Ruler, His Royal Highness Dr. Raphael Maiwada Galadima, and the deten’Ion of Adara elders who protested what they termed “injustice and marginalisation.”

“The situation has now escalated beyond a security problem, it is a full-blown humanitarian emergency,” ADA warned. “Thousands of displaced persons now live under trees or in overcrowded host communities without access to farmlands.”

The group acknowledged that the assumption of office by Governor Uba Sani initially brought “some relief” as displaced villagers began returning home.

However, it said, “violence has returned in a highly coordinated manner, threatening to undermine the progress made.”

The association appealed to the Federal and Kaduna State Governments to restore the Adara First-Class Chiefdom, establish permanent security outposts, provide emergency relief, and launch an independent investigation into the atrocities.

It also urged humanitarian agencies to conduct needs assessments and deliver food, water, medical supplies, and trauma counselling.

“Every life lost is not just a statistics, it is a human tragedy that demands attention and action,” the Association said.

The statement further noted that Adara people are peace-loving and law-abiding who only seek to live peacefully on their ancestral land to farm, raise children, worship freely, and build a future with dignity. (Daily Trust)