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Tag: Agatu

  • KINSMEN AT WAR: HOW CHIEFTAINCY, LAND TUSSLES TORE BENUE COMMUNITY APART

    After surviving series of mindless attacks in the hands of murderous herdsmen, the relative peace enjoyed in Aila, one of the communities making up Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State, appears to have been shattered. The kinsmen, who earlier worked together to defend the community against external aggression, recently engaged in a bloody communal clash which led to the brutal killing of many residents and vandalisation of over 100 houses. Many families have consequently scattered with many parents not knowing the children’s whereabouts. INNOCENT DURU reports.

    After fighting hard together with his kinsmen to bring about lasting peace in Aila, one of the Agatu Local Government Areas ravaged by killer herdsmen’s attacks,  87-year -old Pa Adamu Olotu, had one wish for his agrarian community and that was never to see the community attacked and the blood of his people spilled again.

    Beyond wishing for a lasting peace in his community, the octogenarian made deliberate and frantic efforts to ward off any further bloody attacks against Aila.

    Unfortunately for the ex-military man, the wish soon vanished a like vapour as the community once again witnessed another round of killings and wanton destruction of houses and other valuables by its own people. The recent communal clash which has left the community desolate, was said to have been triggered by chieftaincy and land tussles between opposing clans making up the community.

    “We were at home when the disgruntled clans invaded our homes with guns and other dangerous weapons. They struck around 5pm and threw the entire area into confusion as they started shooting and burning houses. I was sleeping when I heard the gunshots. I am a retired military officer and it was my military experience that helped me to survive the onslaught.

    “The attackers killed my younger brother, Bakwo, in the process and also killed one of his sons, Jumo. They burnt my house and everything in it. As I am talking with you now, I don’t have anything again, not even a shirt. The one I am wearing now was given to me by a friend.”

    Regretting that his desire for his community to enjoy lasting peace has been shattered, Olotu said:  “After narrowly surviving the herdsmen’s menace and trying to start life afresh, it is unfortunate that our own people chose to return the community to the days of mindless killings. My wish that the lives of our people would not be wasted on the altar of needless clashes has gone with the wind.

    “I am completely helpless as I am talking with you now. I only look forward to God for assistance.  The government has not intervened because they believe it is a communal clash.”

    Much as he loved to live and possibly die in his hometown, the old man who is taking refuge in Odugbehan, a neighbouring community that is about 10 kilometeres away from Aila, was not elated when asked by this reporter if he would want to go back home soon.  “There is no hope of when to go back home for now. We can’ t just contemplate going back home because the people that attacked us are still much around in our area.  They are armed to the teeth and would not hesitate to murder anyone that crosses their path.

    “The annoying thing is that a member of that clan that is attacking us is a public office holder. When the crisis started, he came and told us not  run to away but we didn’t know it was a ploy to facilitate our extermination.  We want the government to do something drastic about this to prevent further spilling our people’s blood. Enough is enough. We have never enjoyed quality period of peace all along.  It has been crisis, from herdsmen’s attacks to attacks by members of our community.  Enough of this,” he said.

    Another member of the community, who gave his name as  Seidu Adamu, was enveloped by emotion as he also narrated how his cousin was brutally murdered during the attack. “They burn my house and killed my cousin, called Ngbede.  We were both running away from the assailants but he wasn’t as lucky as I was.  They caught up with him and murdered him in his cold blood.

    “My family is scattered now.  I have lost my means of livelihood and don’t know how to survive.  I have resorted to begging for food because there is no alternative for now. Our children have not been going to school. How can they go to school when we are talking about how to survive hunger and the unfortunate situation we have found ourselves?”

    Seidu called on the government to make sure that justice is done to assuage the pains of victims of the communal clash.

    A female, Rukiya Adamu, did not lose any of her relations in the attack but she is in deep sorrow as she still does not know the whereabouts of two of her children. The development, she said, causes her heartache because she is always thinking about them.  “I still don’t know the whereabouts of two of my children. We all ran in different directions when the attackers came.

    “How do I explain the disappearance of two children? I want my children back. I always imagine them calling and wondering why I am not responding to their calls. Their unknown whereabouts causes me heartache every minute because I am always pondering on where they could be and what they could be going through at the moment. The assailants have caused me untold sorrow. I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the government to help me find my children.”

    The embattled mother added: “The attackers also burnt our house and all our belongings.  We have no roof to lay our heads if eventually we are asked to go back home today. Unfortunately for us, we can’t go back home because our land is a no go area for now. The killers are still there waiting for us to come back so that they can behead us.”

    The wobbly sprinting from Aila to Agatu would remain indelible in the mind of Aishatu Megida. For a very long time, she had not had any reason to run over a long distance. But when the assailants stormed her area that fateful day, Aishatu said she didn’t know where the energy came from to do the 10-kilometer race to Odugbehan.

    Her words: “I can’t count the number of times I fell down running from Aila to Odugbehan, which is about 10 kilometres. My body is full of injuries as a result of falling down at different times. Once I fell down, I would quickly stand up and continue running to avoid being caught and murdered by the blood-thirsty people who never care if their victims are children, women, elderly able of disabled.”

    30-year-old Salatu Haruna expressed sadness for the return of mindless killing to the community.  Sharing her experience, he said: “I was at home when they stormed the community and started shooting. I couldn’t wait to get my wife and children to escape with me.  Each one of us fled the community without informing the other. We didn’t anticipate the attack at all.

    “Most of us are yet to overcome the shock we suffered after the attack. We have lost the little we have been able to put together after the herdsmen attack. I feel so sad that this happening at a time we are hoping and praying that the days of bloodletting should not return to Agatu Local Government again.”

    Apart from adults, some children also relived their narrow escape from the bloody-thirsty invaders. A seven-year- old girl, who gave her name simply as  Patience, said: “ I ran into the bush when I heard gunshots. It didn’t even occur to me to look for my parents when the agents of death came knocking at our door.  It was a terrible experience because I had to be waddling through the thick bush. Thorns were piercing my body but I just couldn’t stop because it was better for thorns to pierce me than for bullets to hit me.

    “My pain is that we would not be able to write examinations for the term that is about ending. Our exams were to start at the beginning of the week but we can’t take part in it.”

    It was also a tale of woe for eight-year-old Bartholomew who said he still hears the sounds of gunshots and always is traumatised by them.   “When I heard the gunshots, I only saw my peers running and had to join them. We ran into the bush and kept running until we got to Odugbehan. I still feel like I am hearing sounds of gunshots. They traumatise me and I am scared of going back home. I feel the disturbing experience would continue to traumatise me.”

    Giving a hint about the cause of the clash, a survivor, Bala Haruna, said: “The problem was caused by chieftaincy and land matters. We had no weapon to fight back or repel them when they came. All we could do was to flee our fatherland to avoid being killed. We are poor farmers who do not have the means to purchase weapons. All we can do is appeal to the government to intervene so that the challenge of insecurity in our community would come to an end.

    “If the government does not intervene, they would continue to kill us. As we speak now, the academic life of our children has been badly affected because they can’t go to school not to talk of joining their peers to write promotion exams.”

    But a  leader of one of the clans, who did not want his name in print in a telephone interview with The Nation, said the clash was caused solely by chieftaincy tussle.

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    “It has been only one community that had been ruling. After sometime, the government came up with a law that established district heads that should rotate among the different communities making up Aila.  But the clan that caused this recent problem refused to accept that principle of rotation and that has been the major contention up till now. We have about eight communities here. Seven agreed that the leadership of the community should be rotated but the eighth community refused.

    “On one occasion, there was a burial ceremony here in Aila; the disgruntled clan invaded the burial venue and killed some people.  The community consequently destroyed their houses and sent them out of the land.”

    He added: “That was the situation until they, accompanied by other people from outside this area, invaded our town, Aila. The houses burnt were more than 100, while the number of people killed was eight. I am not aware of 10 people. The land problem is not in our area. It is an issue between two other towns.

    “Somebody was arrested in connection with this attack but he  has since been released. There is absolutely no peace as I speak with you. The invaders are still moving about with arms. Our children can’t go to school again. One of the secondary schools was also vandalised.”

    Contacted, the Benue State  Police Public Relations Officer, Kate Anene, said the command wasn’t aware that the disagreement  in the area had become a full-blown crisis.

    “What you are saying now was not reported to me as a crisis initially. What happened was that they went for a burial and they had a disagreement. They said the disagreement was because people who were not supposed to attend the burial attended it.  So, if it had resulted in such a crisis that has led to the people running away, I am just hearing it from you”.

    The PPRO also denied knowing that people were killed and houses burnt in Aila.

    “I am not aware of it.  The DPO sent me a situation report yesterday but he didn’t include that some people were killed. Haha! Hum! I will call him and find out. If that is true why should he not report it?  I will find out.”

  • Awaiting death: Benue communities crippled by fears of fresh herdsmen attacks …as dry season sets in

    Sometime around this time last year, many communities in Agatu, Guma and Logo local government areas of Benue State suffered mindless attacks in the hands of murderous gunmen suspected to be herdsmen who  killed the residents in their numbers, destroyed their victims’ farms, residential buildings and innocent children’s  school buildings comprising furniture and books.  One year after the sad incident, INNOCENT DURU  visited the volatile communities to gauge the mood of the people, and reports that many of them are apprehensive that the ugly incident could  rear its head again, especially as the floods that obstructed the movement of the herdsmen into their communities have dried up.

     

    Madam Memunat Musa, a 65- year- old, had everything going very well for her until early last year, January to be specific, when suspected herdsmen invaded her community in Okokolo area of Agatu Local Government  and shattered her joy.

    During the attack, Memunat had her husband and one of her sons cruelly murdered, butchered and set ablaze by the assailants, who also set their house on fire.

    The murder of her hubby, son and other kinsmen last year and previous attacks on the communities, according to the slim built dark-complexioned woman, occurred during the dry season when the floods that blocked the path through which the herdsmen invaded the community had dried.

    Sitting dolefully under a tree beside her late husband’s burnt house and fragilely removing maize grains from the cobs, Memunat said  she dreads dry season because it reminds her of  the  sad incident last year and also causes her  concerns about her own safety and that of her people.

    “My son, the season of killings has come. The time of bloodshed  and endless mourning is here. I am talking  about the dry season that is here because it is the period the herdsmen always enter our communities to wreak havoc.  I was a victim of their unholy activities last year.

    “My husband was killed and burnt, while my son was butchered like an animal. While I have not yet overcome the grief that comes with the  horrendous murder of my husband and one of my sons, I am worried about my fate and that of my kinsmen. There is always a kind of explosion in my head each time I think about this,” the beleaguered woman, speaking through an interpreter, said in emotion-laden voice.

    Explaining the crucial role that rains play in saving the area from the assailants, Memunat said: “We have security operatives in some parts of the community, but the rainy season also helps in securing our lives. The floods caused by heavy rains help us a great deal to prevent the attackers from having access to the communities because they block the route from which they enter here. Now that the dry season is here, the roads would be very free now for the herdsmen to come in.

    “I am psychologically disturbed right now because from every indication, the crisis is not yet over. We have fears that the attackers could easily invade our communities and kill us now that the dry season is here. Any strange sound around me makes my heart to skip as I often think it is the herdsmen that are coming to attack us again.”

    The remark by Memunat that the route through which the herdsmen enter the community was just behind the house sparked anxiety in this reporter, who instantly became concerned about his own safety too. Every unusual movement from the said route heightened the fear. The noise of chirpping insects, whistling breeze and debilitating cries of birds with pointed mouth combined to give the kind of sound effect used in many Nollywood movies to signal that danger is lurking.

    It was like being between the devil and deep blue sea. The reporter’s mind ceaselessly quaked as he expressed concern  about what would happen to his wife and children should the enemies suddenly strike.  Going back would mean not getting the report done and going forward would mean getting deeper into danger. But the decision to brave the odds became stronger and there was no going back as far as getting  the assignment done was concerned.

    Not a single security man was seen in all the communities in  Agatu visited by this reporter. The only area where military presence wasfelt at RCM Primary School, Okokolo where sand bags were heaped in a corner of the school but no single officer was sighted in the area.  The community members, however, said soldiers were always around but that they were not on ground during the reporter’s visit.

    Recalling how the herdsmen struck last  year, Memunat said: “My late husband built this house, which comprised eight rooms and a parlour. But the herdsmen set it ablaze when they attacked us last year. We were inside the house when they came shooting. Immediately we heard the gunshots, we started running for our dear lives but my husband wasn’t lucky enough to escape. The killer herdsmen caught up with him, killed and burnt him. Like I said earlier, the same fate befell one of my sons who was also killed and butchered by the herdsmen.

    “When we fled into the bush, we had nothing to eat for several days except mangoes because it was the dry season. The attack was so sudden that we couldn’t pick anything out of the house. Everything we had was burnt when the house was set ablaze. After leaving the bush, we fled to Makurdi where my late husband built another house and stayed there for about three months before coming back here. Coming back here, we only managed to erect one room since we don’t have money to renovate the entire building. It is in that one room apartment that two other wives of my late husband and I are putting up.”

    Aside from the adults, the young ones, especially those whose fathers were cruelly killed, also expressed  uncertainty over their safety.

    Twelve-year-old  Rachael Onumiya, a pupil of Government Junior Secondary School, was one of such children. Last year, her father, a teacher, was murdered by the herdsmen about the same time Memunat’s husband and son were killed. “In spite of  having security men who come around, we are all still living in fears, especially now that dry season has come. This is the time they attack us more because the floods that used to obstruct their movement into our communities are fast drying up,” the young girl said.

    Narrating how Her father was killed, she said: “He was teaching in the school when the herdsmen attacked and  killed him.  He was not as lucky as some of his colleagues who escaped. He was also fleeing from the attackers who caught up with him and murdered him in cold blood.  I ran away when the killers came to the community.

    “ The moment we heard that they were approaching, we all ran away. They burnt our houses  and killed many people, especially the old and the younger  ones who could not run very fast.”

    Rachael’s colleagues,  Patient Tanko and Regina Francis, also lost their fathers last year during the attacks. Like every other member of the community, the dry season has become a nightmare for the children.

    “We don’t sleep at night because if the herdsmen should come around that time, one may not be able to get up on time to escape. It is possible for one to suddenly wake up and mistakenly run in the direction of the killers. We are also always at alert during the day because there is no specific time the herdsmen come. They strike anytime and we are constantly watching out for them because we are in a war situation. This affects us in every area of life because all we know and see is trouble, sorrow and anxiety,” Patient said.

    Also speaking, Regina said: “Everybody runs when trouble comes. Nobody hardly remembers anybody.  Nobody cares how the kids, disabled and  aged people would   escape. Often times, this set of people are the first to be hacked down or shot dead by the murderers.  We are in that season and anxiety is everywhere.”

    In Odugbehon, Ugboju, and other Agatu communities  ravaged by the herdsmen’s attacks, disturbing sights of burnt and vandalised buildings litered the areas.

    “This is the condition we have found ourselves and yet danger is not completely averted. We have enjoyed relative peace all this while, but we are all aware that the time to be at alert during the day and  keep vigil all night is here. This dry season is the time the herdsmen come to shed the blood of our people.  When they came last year and early this year (20I8), they turned our land to a blood field.

    “Where they were initially resisted, they returned and cut children into two using their deadly sword. They are always carrying large charms.  They often start their satanic act by setting the buildings on fire. Those who are sleeping and can’t escape  would get burnt. As the fire is blazingly burning, they would be shooting indiscriminately”, Gabriel,  a resident of Ugboju, said.

    While appreciating the efforts of security men in curbing the rampaging herdsmen, Abu, a  member of Odugbehon community, said: “The security operatives are trying but they are also not spared by the herdsmen. Here in Agatu, they killed a top military officer and took his private part away. That is another  evil that they do after killing people. We can’t abandon our land for them no matter what happens. We  are convinced that we would have the last laugh.”

     

    War-like situation in Logo  LGA

    The mood in Logo Local Government, the home of Benue former governor, Gabriel Suswan, was like a war zone during the visit. The journey to the area, which requires crossing the massive  Buruku River by both vehicles and passengers coming from Gboko and other parts of the state on canoe, was a pointer to what awaited our correspondent in the tension-filled  area. Seeing the river and learning  that it had claimed many lives in the past,  terror seized the reporter,who helplessly wondered  what prompted him to embark on the perilous assignment.  Shortly after he left the area, 40 people crossing the expansive river reportedly perished  in it.

    Getting to different parts of the local government, no fewer than 200 security officers  stood at  strategic points to repel  the rampaging herdsmen.  One of the  traditional rulers  in the area, HRH, Dr Enoch Ikyumen, who is in charge of Ipusu Chiefdom, who also sees to the security of the area, gave the statistics  of the various officers thus:   “We have 25 army officers of the 73 Battalion mounting  guard  at Anyibe area. Thirty-three mobile policemen are at Ayilamo; 100 officers  are positioned at Tisenghen; 20 military officers and 65 Special Force  officials are at Ayiin. A set of 33 mobile men are at Chembe and another 65 Special Force are at  Gov.”

    Because of the tense atmosphere, our correspondent’s guides in the area refused to take him round fearing that the trip could  be calamitous. One of them eventually agreed on the condition  that he would not go beyond  the less  volatile  zones.

    An ugly development occurred when our correspondent left Anyiin community for Ayilamo.  Few minutes after leaving Anyiin, the head of security matters in the area, Jerry, who was with our correspondent, got a call that the herdsmen were already in Anyiin, the community that this reporter left shortly. Jerry, who also coordinates the various security teams, immediately made calls to the various security commanders.

    “I have made calls to the commanders, who would immediately mobilise to dislodge the herdsmen. You would soon be hearing the sound of gunshots now. If you had come sometime last month, we wouldn’t have been able to pass through some of the places we passed through because the herdsmen wreaked havoc there. You don’t have to worry about going back through the troubled area,” Jerry said to allay our man’s fears.

     

     Residents’ fears justified by recent killings

    The fears expressed by the residents appeared  justified considering the pockets of fresh  attacks and murder of farmers in different parts of the local government last week and the preceding week.

    Shortly before the Christmas celebration, one of such attacks was recorded at Tse Ibor, Tombo Ward,  where the herders allegedly killed some  farmers on their farms and also set valuables, including motorcycles, ablaze.

    One of the victims, Miahaga Ulyo, was said to have  gone to package  the rice he harvested  and planned to convey it to Ayilamo when he was attacked and murdered in the farm.

    “We can’t still sleep with our two eyes closed despite the presence of security men everywhere. What the herdsmen do now is to go to farms to attack people.  The dry season is here and they have started their heinous act again. We can’t go to farms to harvest our produce because there is no certainty that they would not come and kill somebody there. Able-bodied men and women are idle and hungry because of the fear of herdsmen, ”Benjamin, a resident said.

    When this reporter visited the IDP camp at Ayilamo, some of the displaced persons said there is still no respite for them even though there are armed security men around.

    “The herdsmen have never stopped coming to attack us  and that has always resulted in heavy shoot out between them and  security men. We always hear sounds of gunshot down the camp and the moment it becomes too intense, all of us would begin to run away to no definite destination. It does not matter whether it is in the dead of the night or during the day, we would just be running.

    “In the course of scampering to safety, parents would forget their children and aged people would be left behind. Nobody even remembers pregnant women in that situation. It is always a race for survival where the strong survive and the weak abandoned to their own fate,” one of the inmates said.

    Recalling how the herdsmen sacked  his community during one of the previous attacks, HRH Dr. Enoch Ikyumen, said: “ It took the herdsmen a very shot time to burn down the whole  village. They burnt my new buildings, one Hilux van and one salon Peugeot car.They killed many people during those attacks. It was too bloody.”

     

    Anxiety in Guma, incumbent Governor Ortom’s local government 

    Guma, the local government area where  the incumbent governor, Samuel Ortom, comes from, is another part of the state that has been crippled by the herdsmen’s attacks. Many public schools in the area have been converted to IDP camps after the inmates were forced to quit their  homes because of the attacks.

    About 72 persons were murdered in the area around this time last year. Since then, life has never been the same for the residents.

    A resident of Uikpan, a community in the local government, who gave his name simply as Isaac,  said. “There is still tension everywhere as you can see. If  you move down this area to places like Tse Orkpen, Atongo,  Ortserga, Haaga, Chia, Akema, Baar, Tor Uke, Gawan, Tse Umande, you will  see that people are no more living there because of the herdsmen.

    “Some of the herdsmen are still there brandishing guns. How can you go and farm or live in that kind of place? We that are even here are still not safe not to talk of people in that environment? Herdsmen killed many people here too. This is the period (the season) they always strike. Unfortunately for us, we don’t have the means to fight back. We are always at their mercy anytime they come to attack.”

    Another resident, who identified herself simply as  Blessing, said: “We have not known peace since the herdsmen started attacking our communities. When it is night,  you can’t be certain that everybody will be alive the following morning. An attack can happen in the night and many will be murdered. We talk of wasting of human lives here like the killing of cockroaches. Now that the floods caused by rain have stopped, our fears are that floods of blood shed by herdsmen may be the next thing that we might be seeing.”

     

     Public education suffers setback

    Aside from crippling commercial and social activities, the herdsmen’s attacks have also caused serious setback to academic activities in the troubled areas as most of the public schools were vandalised during the attacks.

    During the trip to Guma, a good number of the children were found to have taken to farming  after being out of school for close to three years in the last four years.

    One of the parents, Raymond Kinda, said: “The future of our kids is very bleak. Our prayer is that our children should be better than us but how would this be possible when they don’t have the opportunity of completing ordinary primary school? There is no parent that would be happy that the children have at this tender age dropped out of school for no fault of theirs and engaging  in farming and playing around every day.

    “The government at all levels should do something urgent to restore peace to our communities, rebuild the schools and provide the enabling environment for education and other activities to thrive again.”

    At Agatu, pupils in most of the public schools were found learning under trees.

    The head of Odugbehon community in Agatu, Bawa Haruna,  said:  “As parents we are not happy because our children  are being denied  their rights to quality education. The state in which the pupils are learning is not conducive. We are only encouraging  them to go to school because any day wasted cannot be regained.”

    The situation appeared to be worse at Logo where the inhuman activities of the herders have led to the closure of many schools.  “We are in a war situation. We are not different from the people living in Liberia or Congo when those countries were gripped by civil wars.  We are always on the alert because the herdsmen can invade the community anytime without minding the presence of security operatives in the community. The moment we observe that danger is lurking, we would dismiss the pupils and also run away,” a teacher of Tombo  Community Secondary School, who craved anonymity on the ground of being a civil servant, said.

    The coordinator of the Benue chapter of Civil Society Action  Coalition on Education  for All, Rosemary Hua , said   “Some of them (pupils) have lost interest in schooling. How to bring them back now is another issue.  Some of the female children have got married and some others have taken to prostitution.  Some do menial jobs to get money  and some others have been trafficked.  Some of the adolescents girls  are being used as sex machines. Those who are around 17 years old are worst affected.”

    The chairman of the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Paul Tachin, however, said the state is doing its best in constructing new buildings and renovating old ones.

    “We have been working but the effort is still lesser than what it is supposed to be,” Mr. Tachin said. “Some of the buildings we recently built or renovated  were destroyed again.  We need external intervention to help us overcome our challenge. We have 2, 723  schools across the state. Some are in difficult terrains but contractors are working on them.”

    No cause for alarm – Joint Task Force spokesman

    The spokesman of Operation Whirl Stroke, a joint task force maintaining security in the troubled areas and other parts of the state, Major General Adeyemi Yekini, has allayed the fears of the people. He said: “I understand the fears of the people. Anybody who saw what happened in Benue State in the past would be afraid.  I can assure you that Operation Whirl Stroke is on top of the situation.  The people don’t have to be afraid of anything.

    “We are patrolling the nooks and crannies of Benue State for 24 hours every day.  Those who are having fears should stop exercising fears.  If they have any problems, they have our number and can call us.  The situation has improved and can only get better.  This 2019, there would be zero tolerance for insecurity.”

     

  • Tears as eight PDP accident victims are buried

    Tears flowed heavily in Oju at the funeral rites of eight members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that died in a ghastly motor accident last Friday on their way to the Zone C senatorial campaign flag-off in Agatu.

    PDP chieftains, candidates and officials as well as bereaved family members battled to hold back tears as they took turns to give orations at the combined church service.

    Governor Samuel Ortom, in a funeral oration, described their deaths as tragic and painful, saying the patriots died when their services were most needed in the build up to the 2019 general elections.

    The governor prayed to God to grant their souls eternal rest and their family members the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.

    tears

     

    He directed the immediate appointment of one member of the families to provide succor for them.

    Ortom also told mourners the excavated portion of the Aliade-Oju road would be fixed within three weeks.

    He charged the Igede nation to remain peaceful as they go into the final phase of the 2019 elections.

    Former Senate President David Mark and senatorial candidate for Zone C, Comrade Abba Moro, in separate orations, said they were heartbroken and felt a sense of personal losses.

    They consoled the bereaved families and prayed God to grant their fallen heroes and heroine eternal rest, describing their death as tragic and traumatising.

    Member representing Oju/Obi federal constituency in the National Assembly, Rt. Hon. Samson Okwu, who could not hold tears, said he lost key members of his campaign team in the accident.

    He pointed out that the day would remain a black day in the history of Igede nation.

    Bishop Methodist Church in Oju Local Government Area, Rt. Reverend Odeh Ocheke, urged the congregation to prepare for the last day as nobody knows when and where it would come.

    Ortom had paid homage on the Adirahu Ny Igede, Chief Oga Ero, a retired Commissioner of Police, on arrival where he condoled the entire Igede nation on the tragic loss of their illustrious sons and daughters.

     

  • The Agatu/Fulani herdsmen deal

    Last week the peace deal between  the warring Agatu people of Benue and the Fulani herdsmen  midwifed by Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue and his Nasarawa  State counterpart, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura to rebuild confidence after  what the former described as  “ the massive and unprecedented destruction of Agatu and killings by herdsmen”, and the latter as “the culture of impunity where a group of individuals entered other people’s land and began to kill them or attack others and their cattle” crumbled no sooner it was publicly proclaimed by the peace makers. The highlights of the collapsed peace deal designed to end five decades of reprisal massacre of cows and human beings  include  the call for “forgiveness by  the  victims while keeping silent on the need for genuine contrition;  a creation  of  dedicated grazing route along Oguto Adanyi – Ogumagbo- Bagana  communities for the movement of cattle by indigenous Fulani herdsmen’; a proposal by the peace makers  to make representation  to the Federal Government, donor  agencies, development partners, voluntary organizations and philanthropists to assist victims of the crisis in the affected communities of Benue and Nassarawa states and contribution of the sum of N30m by the two peacemakers  which would be used to provide building materials for the ravaged Agatu Communities”.

    I sympathise with both governors. It was obvious from their body language they were trying to walk the tight rope instead of striking the nail on the head (apology to Alhaji Ishmael Jose). These are governors who under a freely negotiated   federal arrangement   are expected to be independent and equal with the centre but who in reality exist at the behest of a dysfunctional centre that runs a multi-ethnic society without residual powers for the federating units. The result is that the federating units that depend on the centre for payment of salaries of local council workers, primary school teachers, and protection of life and properties which is the major reason they exist as states, cannot publicly admit the problem of our nation is the tyranny of the government at the centre.

    Thus, instead of Al Makura talking truth to the Fulani hegemonic power whose members arm herdsmen with sophisticated weapons, he spoke from both sides of the mouth without making a distinction between the victims and aggressors.  Of course, Ortorn like his fellow  new generation of Middle Belt politicians like Gabriel  Suswam, Joshua Dariye and Jonah Jang  appealed to his compatriots to allow God fight their battle while reminding them that  the only safeguard for peace and  development is forgiveness as if there can be peace without justice. The Middle Belt military politicians are not different. Their genius only find expression in planning coups (military and civilian) or threatening to shoot MKO Abiola if his mandate was allowed to stand. None of the grovelling military Generals-turned-politicians have been able to tell truth to the Fulani hegemonic power, in the manner of  the inimitable Joseph Tarka  who suffered deprivations  from the dominant northern establishment  over his demand for self-actualization  for his people within the context of Nigerian politics in the pre- and post-independence  years.

    Of course, vengeance as Governor Ortorn has said, belongs to God. Of course, the indigenous Fulani born in the land who have no other place to call home and identify with the aspirations of their host communities should be supported by the community to make a living like the rest of the people. But peace as end of justice can only be achieved by listening and coming to the aid of those whose source of subsistence living has been destroyed.  Compensating those whose cattle were massacred and above all, bringing those who engaged in mindless killing of innocent men, women and children to justice.

    Our crisis of nationhood as this column has consistently maintained, is the resistance to restructuring to make our federal arrangement work by the groups that seem to derive temporary benefit from the current unwieldy and unviable 36 states and 774 LGAs. This is why some federal lawmakers with false sense of self-worth will declare during a grazing bill debate that herdsmen have the right to graze their cattle anywhere in the country by virtue of the constitution. The question that follows is which constitution? The current constitution as many informed Nigerians have concluded  is a military document designed to keep the military that has directly or indirectly been in power since 1966  relevant in our national affairs? The document gave an edge to the North because the military leadership was dominated within this period (1967 and 1999) by military officers of northern extraction. Obasanjo, the only influential exception owes allegiance to the North that tolerated him as Head of State following the assassination of Murtala Mohammed in 1976.  (Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe who as the most senior surviving military officer, was rejected as Head of State by the North in 1966). The result of this is the emergence of a new generation of northern politicians who despite lacking the vision and mission of the late revered Ahmadu Bello who once referred the restive Middle Belt region shortly after independence as extension of his great grandfather’s fiefdom, have with this false sense of entitlement   continued to resist restructuring of the country to free federating units from the tyranny of a dysfunctional federal centre.

    It is but a dysfunctional centre that will choose to waste resources it does not generate on grazing  zones over state lands it does not control when it has the options  of either establishing or empowering private  concerns to establish  commercial ranches as obtains elsewhere in the world. And  precisely because the centre has been busy playing politics with resources it does not generate instead of providing leadership, few of the unwieldy 36 states have exhibited the type of resourcefulness  associated with pre and post-independence regional leaders,

    Why for instance can’t the government of Benue, Nasarawa and some other states in the north jointly set up or empower the wealthy Fulani farmers to set up commercial ranches that can provide employment for thousands of unemployed northern youths? Why can’t a Governor Ayo Fayose, currently obsessed with building bridges over land and an airport take a break from chasing errant cows around farms to rehabilitate the dairy farm established by Adekunle Ajasin during the Second Republic in order to take advantage of South-west’s huge market where 10,000 cows are consumed daily?

    And finally for the patrons of Fulani herdsmen in the National Assembly  who want to live in the 19th century  with their thesis of fear about  desertification  forcing  Fulani herdsmen to overrun  the southern states in desperate search for grazing field if the passage of the grazing bill failed, let me call their attention to the miracle of Botswana. Here is a country of two million people, the size of France with 70% of the land covered by Kalahari desert but exports more meat to the world than the combined efforts of other African countries. Cattle are the mainstay of Botswana economy which depends on deep-bore-hole water for 95% of her human and animal water need. Botswana was one of the poorest nations in the world with per capita income of about $70 at independence in 1964 but today one of the fastest growing economies in Africa with per capita of about $18,825.

  • Herdsmen attacks: Agatu indigenes threaten to defend selves

    We may take up arms to defend ourselves from the continuous attacks of Fulani herdsmen, indigenes of Agatu community in Benue State said yesterday.

    Leader of One Idoma Initiative, Mr. Paul Edeh, who addressed reporters yesterday in Abuja at a Peace Concert organised to raise funds for Agatu indigenes, said though indigenes of the community had started raising funds to rebuild their area, they would not continue to wait for the government to protect them.

    His words: “It is no longer breaking news that Fulani herdsmen attacked our people and over 2,000 houses were destroyed. We have gathered here today to advocate for peace for our people and also raise funds for the rebuilding of Agatu.

    “We are talking about peace in Idoma Land and Agatu is an Idoma community. We are saying enough is enough of these attacks on the Idoma people; we want the government to know that if you are pushed to the wall, there is this resistant spirit within every man. If the government cannot come to our aid, we might not have the luxury to wait. The government should do the needful so that our people are not forced to defend themselves.

    “If we are forced to defend ourselves, it might lead to the proliferation of firearms, which is what we don’t want. And if it gets to that, government will even spend more to disarm citizens. So we are saying let there be peace and the government has a role to play in ensuring this.”

    Edeh, however, said there had been relative peace in Agatu after an accord was signed, urging the Fulani herdsmen to leave the community.

    “A communique was issued and the first two items urged the Fulani herdsmen to carry their people and leave Agatu and they truly left.

    “Within three days after that communiqué was signed, the herders left Agatu and till date, I can confirm to you that though we have some Fulanis coming in at times, they have left the community in the last two or three months the communiqué was signed.”

  • Enugu, Agatu, Nasarawa killings criminal, says Sultan

    Enugu, Agatu, Nasarawa killings criminal, says Sultan

    Sultan of Sokoto and President-General,  Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has described the killings during attacks on communities of Agatu in Benue state, Nnibo in Enugu State and some parts of Nasarawa state as a crime and urged the government to bring perpetrators to justice.

    He called for a thorough investigation by appropriate security agencies into the killings in order to fish out the evil perpetrators and forestall re-occurrence.

    Sultan Abubakar made his view known in a statement signed by JNI Secretary-General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu. He said: “Crimes are abominable and whoever commits them is a criminal.”

    He lamented that certain groups or people ascribe the killings to ethnic and/or religious premise and to whimsically apportion blame in order to batter the gradual restoration of peace and security in Nigeria.

    The statement said: “Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) received with great shock and deep concern the news of incessant killings and maiming of innocent lives and the destruction of public and private properties. Of particular concern are the brutal murders of people in Agatu-Benue state, Nnibo-Enugu state and some parts of Nasarawa state. It is indeed alarming that within few weeks, deadly attacks were reportedly unleashed while the perpetrators go un-arrested.

    “JNI therefore condemns in strong terms these repeated heinous attacks and once again calls on the relevant security agencies to brace up to the trends, in order to put a stop to this ugly tide, as human lives are sacred and must be seen to be treated as so.

    “JNI and indeed all Nigerians, view the fall out of these repeated attacks, particularly the taking up of arms against other citizens as another trend of insecurity that portends grave danger to the Nation. We must not forget so soon the adverse effect of the so called Boko Haram group, that claimed the lives of many thousands innocent lives.

    “Hundreds have been abducted, the males forced into insurgency and the females into slavery. Millions more are wallowing in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Nigeria and in Refugee Camps in neighbouring countries. Public and private properties worth trillions of Naira have been destroyed.

    “We therefore call for a thorough investigation by appropriate agencies in order to fish out the evil perpetrators, bring them to justice and forestall re-occurrence. The repeated heinous acts of attacks are crimes against the citizenry and the perpetrators are therefore criminals and must be treated so.

    “It is indeed absurd and most unfortunate that certain groups or people ascribe the incidents on ethnic and/or religious premise and to whimsically apportion blame in order to batter the gradual restoration of peace and security in Nigeria. Well, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State has debunked the rumours, likewise the Inspector General of Police has also debunked the insinuations over those being blamed.

    “We must thus be cautious of packaging crimes on religious and ethnic garments. Crimes are abominable and whoever commits them is criminal. Security agencies should brace up in being proactive and utilize maximally intelligence reports in order to nip-in the bud possible eruptions of security problems within and around communities.

    “Painfully, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, JNI, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, on behalf of Nigerian Muslims, condoles the families of those who lost their lives and sympathies with all affected victims, and also calls for concerted introspection and commitment by relevant agencies to take proactive and effective measures in addressing this pernicious problem.

  • APC wants end to killings by Fulani herdsmen

    APC wants end to killings by Fulani herdsmen

    The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the south east has demanded an end to the wanton killings of innocent Nigerians and destruction of villages and farmlands by so called Fulani Herdsmen as well as reprisals attacks.

    In a statement made available to The Nation in Abuja and signed by spokesman of the South East caucus of the part, Osita Okechukwu, the APC said the killings first in Agatu and recently in Enugu must stop forthwith.

    He said: “It is painful that while the Federal Government of Nigeria is doing everything possible to contain the Boko Haram insurgency; another virus in the name of Herdsmen is dislocating the security architecture of our dear country. Yesterday it was Agatu in Benue State; today it is Ukpabio Nimbo in Enugu State. It must stop.

    “May we use this opportunity to deeply commiserate with the families of the bereaved; in particular the people and government of Benue and Enugu States. God in his infinite mercy will surely heal the wounds.

    “In sum, we appeal for calm and urge all to take solace on the truism that the Federal Government of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari is quietly working round the clock to stop the bloodletting, fish out the culprits and the masterminds who equip the Herdsmen with sophisticated weapons.”

  • Agatu killings: My heart bleeds as my people are being massacred, says Mark at 68

    Agatu killings: My heart bleeds as my people are being massacred, says Mark at 68

    Former Senate  President David Mark, who turned 68 years yesterday,  has pledged to continue to serve God and devote the rest of his life to the less privileged in the society.

    He  spoke  at a thanksgiving service to mark the occasion.

    But it was devoid of fanfare in solidarity with the people of his constituents –the Agatus- who were recently massacred by Fulani herdsmen.

    Mark’s spokesman, Paul Mumeh, quoted the senator as saying: “My heart bleeds when I see my people massacred in Agatu. I am saddened that suddenly our people became refugees in their homes.

    “I pray that peace returns as soon as possible so that the survivors and all the displaced people scattered in various internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps return to their homes.”

    He urged  the state and Federal Governments to “do everything possible to resettle the beleaguered Agatu people.”

    He added:  ”We must do all we can to live in peace in Nigeria. I earnestly crave for a crime-free society where all citizens are free to pursue their legitimate ambitions anywhere without molestation.”

    Mark said it was only in a peaceful environment that meaningful development could be achieved.

    He added that as a part of his dedication to God, he had forgiven all those who offended him in one way or

  • Ortom visits Agatu after attacks

    Ortom visits Agatu after attacks

    Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has solicited the support of  the Federal Government, global agencies, organisations and individuals to rehabilitate destroyed communities in Agatu and other parts of the state.

    He implored the Federal Government to institute a commission of enquiry to examine the causes of the attacks, document the losses and recommend solution.

    The governor, who addressed reporters at Okokolo in Agatu Local Government after executive and security council members inspected the communities destroyed by herdsmen, described the magnitude of destruction as monumental.

    He said it was beyond the financial capacity of the state to rehabilitate the communities.

    Ortom said he visited some of the places attacked by insurgents in the Northeast, but the magnitude of devastation in Agatu exceeded those places.

    He urged the Federal Government and people of goodwill to assist the state in repairing the ravaged communities.

    The governor said his administration would build the road from Obagaji to Agagbe in Gwer West Local Government, while the road from Oshigbudu to Obagaji would be completed to enhance accessibility to the area.

    Those who spoke, including Agatu Caretaker Chairman, Joseph Ngbede, traditional rulers of Agatu and Apa, Chiefs Godwin Onah and John Antenyi, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader in the area, John Ngbede, Special Adviser, Alhaji Isah Usman, assembly member, Alhaji Sale Audu and former council chairman, Mike Inalegwu, hailed Ortom for restoring peace to the area.