GOVERNOR Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi of Kaduna State yesterday said that only 10 corpses were buried in a mass grave which sparked off crisis in the state on Monday.Makarfi said that although it was bad to lose a soul, it was proper to state the actual fact as people had been stating that 19 corpses were involved. He spoke while inaugurating the seven-member panel which government set up to unravel the circumstances that led to the crisis.

Irate youths at Tudun Wada demonstrated in the area when they suspected that 19 out of about 48 suspects who were arrested during the four-day nation-wide strike in the area had been executed and buried in amass grave at the Tudun Wada cemetery.

Police later said that those buried were suspected armed robbers who died in several operations in which the said robbers had a shoot-out with security agents. However, inaugurating the Committee at Government House, Alhaji Makarfi said "10 corpses have been deposited at the mortuary of the Military Reference Hospital, Kaduna" and that "anybody interested is free to go and verify".

His words: It is in our quest to ensure that things are done properly, that we decided to set up this committee to dig into the issue at hand with a view to, among others ascertaining the true situation and recommending measures to avert future occurrences, including disciplinary measures where applicable. This will serve the twin purpose of assuring the people that government has nothing to hide, as well as ensuring that the exhumed corpses, whoever they were, and their relatives are availed with the opportunity to get justice.

This committee, which is given a two-week frame to conclude its assignment, is therefore mandated to:determine the identity of the corpses within days and ensure they are properly buried immediately, given their state of relative decomposition. Determine if the corpses were of those arrested in the wake of thedemonstrations that trailed the NLC strike. Whoever they are, determine the cause of their death and events leading to it. Determine the cause of the death of schoolboy, Mohammed Sani Idris, who was allegedly shot dead at the commencement of the NLC strike. Make any other recommendation to government on the way forward. "Let me also seize this opportunity to correct the impression being created by some media reports that 19corpses were exhumed.

As far as the government of Kaduna State is concerned, number is not important, as even one life is precious to us. But in order that record are straightened and also to ensure that we don't lose focus of what we are doing, it is necessary for me to let the people know that to the best of government's knowledge, only 10 corpses were retrieved by the Army and not 19. "Some segments of the society have also wondered why we have not set up a judicial commission of Enquiry.

We decided to go for this kind of panel with full legal powers to summon anybody because of our lack of jurisdiction over the police who are somewhat central to the issue. The findings of the panel will be forwarded to the Federal Government, who could, if need be empanel a judicial commission with more far reaching powers. This way we would not have wasted the time of our people and our time making a wild goose chase that won't take us anywhere."Let me conclude by saying that membership of this committee has been carefully selected on the basis of the integrity of the indivual members. It is the firm belief of government that the committee will be alive to its responsibility by justifying the confidence that has been reposed in them"

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