The organisation vowed to use all legitimate legal means at its disposal to defend their lands and their people’s rights against the intruders.
A former governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, has come under fire from the Atyap Community Development Association (ACDA) in Kaduna State for allegedly outlawing the organisation.To defend their territories and the rights of their people from the invaders, the organisation vowed to take all proper and legal action.Samuel Achie, the association’s national president, declared the previous governor’s proclamation of proscription to be unlawful and without effect in a statement that was signed by him. According to the group, ACDA was first established as a corporate trustee with the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja, on October 4, 1989, under the name Kataf Youth Development Association, with registration number 5562.The document reported that the name was afterwards changed to Atyap Community Development Association and that it had been registered on January 27, 2010, with registration number CAC/11/No 36929, respectively.In Nigeria and abroad, ACDA has branches in each of the country’s 36 states as well as the Federal Capital Territory. The statement noted that ACDA had never engaged in any unlawful activities even in the face of provocation and attacks nor received any notice or complaints of any unlawful activities from the former Kaduna State Government or any quarters whatsoever that would have warranted any caution, not to talk of proscription. In his frantic attempt to ban the group, the previous governor, according to ACDA, did not follow the proper procedures, which rendered the alleged ban unconstitutional. ACDA has not received any notices or legal documents prohibiting it, according to the statement. From social media, we learned of the alleged proscription.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, as amended, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights all uphold the fundamental rights to a fair trial, association, holding and propagating opinions, among others, for members of the ACDA.
“The leadership of the ACDA shall take all lawful and legal steps to protect these rights. Members should therefore remain calm and law abiding as we remain resolute in our resolve to protect our land and people from anybody who thinks they can come from nowhere and take our land.” To our Hausa Brothers in Zangon Kataf town, we urge you to reject those agents provocateurs based in Kaduna and Abuja who are always trying to knock our heads while they remain safely behind their walled mansions in the cities.
“We have always engaged in dialogue in solving our challenges, until such divisive forces interfere to use force or government fiat to disrupt our peaceful relations. We urged the peace loving people in Zangon Kataf town to embrace dialogue and eschew violence. “The Hausa community of Zangon Kataf town should join the peace-loving Atyap to remove all the criminals in their midst in order to return to the peace that we had enjoyed before the violent groups with the complicity of the former government set out to destroy the peace we had all worked so hard to build and sustain.
“The leadership of the ACDA shall take all lawful and legal steps to protect these rights. Members should therefore remain calm and law abiding as we remain resolute in our resolve to protect our land and people from anybody who thinks they can come from nowhere and take our land.”
The statement therefore called on the new Governor, Senator Uba Sani, to put an end to the incessant killings and crises in Atyap land and Southern Kaduna.
