Police Contradict Arresting Southern Kaduna Activists

On Friday, March 21, Kaduna Police denied arresting four members of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU). The spokesperson, Aminu Lawal, said reports about the arrest published by some national dailies were false, as no arrests were made.
  He, however, explained that four persons from the union were invited to the Police Headquarters in Kaduna.

       Lawal said they were invited for questioning over a planned protest to express grievances over the persistent killings in the southern part of the state.
      “The attention of the Kaduna State command has been drawn to a misleading story published in some national dailies on Wednesday, March 20, 2014,” Lawal said.

         He said that the report was false as no person from SOKAPU was detained at the police headquarters.
        The police spokesman said the command would continue to partner with members of the public in maintaining peace in the state.
However, the President of the association, Dr Ephraim Goje, said that four members of the association, whom he had directed to meet with the Commissioner of Police, were detained.
Goje said that the members were asked to sign an undertaking that they would not hold the proposed peaceful rally in protest of the killings in southern Kaduna.
He said that the members declined to sign the undertaking which allegedly resulted in their being locked up for several hours at the police headquarters.
According to him, the unionists were later released and the rally was conducted peacefully.