The Nation Newspaper

Tag: attacks

  • ‘Attacks on my campaign ground by thugs, a coup,’ says Paseda

    … Laments carting away of gift items meant for supporters

    The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ogun State, Prince Rotimi Paseda, has lamented the coordinated attacks on his campaign ground by armed thugs, describing it as a “coup” orchestrated to disrupt the rally and prevent people from listening to his liberating programmes for the state.

    Political thugs suspected to be pandering to the interest of the opposition parties in the state broke into Paseda’s campaign ground in Ijebu at the weekend and for about 20 minutes, the hoodlums  held party members and supporters in terror with many scampering in different directions  for safety as gun shots rang out.

    The hoodlums struck just when the SDP governorship hopeful was addressing the rally, broke it off and began to shout opposition slogan, and the situation worsened when the guards at the event battled to prevent the hoodlums from seizing the stage, a development which led the thugs to shoot into the air.

    In the ensuing commotion, the campaign was brought to an abrupt end while security operatives hurriedly bundled the gubernatorial candidate and other VIPs at the event away to safety.  Gift items such as gas cookers, sewing machines, hair dryers, refrigerators brought to the venue for empowerment were carted away by the thugs.

    Paseda, who was taken aback by the attacks, said it was a premeditated one, but thanked God that there was no loss of life.

    He said: “In my state, most especially my senatorial district we have never been attacked before, we are very peaceful; I only associate with peace.

    “I think we started the campaign very fine until we saw a set of people who were not our party members. We tried to manage and calm them but they kept shouting the opposition slogans and the way it was done I think it was a coup plan because I’ve never seen that before. We have never had any attack on our campaign train until this particular incident.

     

     

     

  • Air Force launches attacks against Boko Haram, kills insurgents

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) yesterday said it has used its newly acquired Mi-35 helicopter gunships to fire rockets and cannon at Boko Haram Terrorists at a camp South East Bonne, Borno State, killing scores of insurgents in the process.

    The Director of Public Relations and Information of the NAF, Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, claimed in a statement that the operation was carried out after an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform had established the presence of the terrorists in the area.

    Adesanya said: ” The newly acquired Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Mi-35M helicopter gunships have successfully unleashed their firepower on Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) at a camp, 9.7km South East of Bonne in the on-going OPERATION THUNDER STRIKE.

    “An earlier Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance report had indicated the significant presence of terrorists in the camp, following which Mi-35M helicopter gunships were deployed to attack them on 15 May 2018.

    “On approaching the target, the Mi-35M helicopter gunships successfully launched rocket and cannon attacks on the camp, in rapid succession.

    “The footage of the attack, as captured by the helicopter’s airborne camera system, indicated the destruction of the targets as the structures within the BHT camp were engulfed in fire while all the terrorists within the camp were also neutralised.”

    NAF took delivery of the second batch of 2 brand new Mi-35M helicopters on 30 April, following which the helicopters were unveiled during the 54th anniversary celebrations in Kaduna.

     

  • LCC warns against violent attacks on staff

    The Managing Director, Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC), Mr. Mubashiru Hassan, has warned motorists plying the Eti-Osa, Lekki, Epe Expressway to desist from violent attacks on the staff of the company working on the expressway.

    He gave this warning while reacting to the spate of violent attacks on the staff of the company.

    Hassan said the company would not tolerate any form of assault on any member of staff by any individual or motorist plying the road.

    ‘’The spate of assaults on staff of the company on the expressway has become worrisome. The company will not condone this anymore. Henceforth, anybody found assaulting or molesting any member of staff of this company in any slightest form shall be arrested and prosecuted, according to the laws of Lagos State,’’ he said.

    He pointed out that security operatives working on the expressway had been put on red alert to apprehend anybody molesting, embarrassing or assaulting any employee of the company and those that might want to cause a breach of peace on the expressway.

    Hassan noted that it was an act of irresponsibility and callousness on the part of anybody or road users to haul stones or cause injuries to the staff of the company assigned to protect lives and properties on the expressway.

    Joseph Abulu was one of the staff of the LCC that was attacked recently by a motorist on the expressway.

    Meanwhile, Mr. Hassan has attributed the accident that occurred on Sunday, March 11, at the Admiralty Toll Plaza on the expressway in which four people were said to have died to drunkenness on the part of a driver who drove against traffic.

    He said: “Contrary to insinuations in some quarters that the accident was as a result of delay in opening the boom barrier, the commercial bus  had already been cleared to pass through the toll plaza when the drunken driver of the Lexus Jeep GX470  driving against traffic, rammed into the commercial bus.

    “The boom barrier was not opened for the driver of the Lexus Jeep as being insinuated in some quarters. Our toll collectors would not allow motorists driving against traffic to pass through as they have been trained to carry out their duties with  professionalism at all times”.

    Hassan pointed out that immediately the accident happened, our rapid response security squad of LCC Route and incident Management Team, the police, LASTMA and Man O’War  officials who were at the scene of the accident, swung into action to attend to the injured victims.

  • We are doing our best to end herdsmen attacks, says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday appealed to leaders of various groups in Benue State to convince their constituents that the Federal Government was doing its best to end the recurring attacks by armed herdsmen in parts of the country.

    In a response to remarks by various stakeholders during a Town Hall meeting at the Government House in Makurdi, the state capital, the President also urged them to show restraint.

    Buhari said: “The governor and I, and others here know that we will leave one day, but the relationship between farmers and herders will continue. I urge you to keep in touch with them and advise them to live peacefully.

    “Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups with different cultures and nobody can question God for putting us together.”

    The President said he preferred to quietly “read the riot act” to his appointees as he did to Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris during the Benue attacks.

    When told that IG Idris did not relocate to Benue State contrary to his order, The President said: “I am getting to know this in this meeting. I am quite surprised.”

    He disclosed that he shared the IGP’s security report on the Benue crisis with Benue Senators George Akume and Barnabas Gemade.

    Recalling his Civil War era memories with military officers from Benue State, Buhari noted that his nostalgic experience with such persons would never allow him to do harm to the state.

    While thanking God for the good rains, he noted the successful efforts of Minister of Agriculture Audu Ogbeh, an indigene of Benue State, who he described as “a great asset in my government.”

    He said his administration would continue to empower farmers with loans through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Delighted that the agricultural policy of his administration led to 90 per cent reduction in rice importation, Buhari praised Ebonyi, Lagos, Kebbi, Jigawa and Benue states for “doing extremely well”.

    Reacting to what he called a “shopping list” by some stakeholders, the President enjoined them to pray for the economy to improve, noting that he would not make any promises during this trip.

    He, however, stressed: “When coming back on campaign, if coming back on campaign, I may promise.”

    Governor Samuel Ortom had thanked Buhari for visiting and listening patiently to the representatives of socio-cultural groups, farmers, herdsmen, national and state legislators, former leaders and elder statesmen, among others, who described him as “a father known for his integrity and fight for justice”.

    Noting that the attacks by armed herdsmen predated the current administration, the governor said the recent attacks had displaced 170,000 people with children of school age constituting 60 per cent.

    He called for support for ranching, compensation for victims of the attacks and rebuilding of destroyed houses and farms, as well as the upgrading of the current military exercise to a “military operation”.

    Ortom also urged the Federal Government to fix some major roads in the state and take over the state polytechnic and college of education, among other demands.

    Ortom said Benue people identified with the reconciliation efforts by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu “who is carrying out your mandate”.

    “The Benue people also appreciate Mr. President for the appointments made from the State; we still hope that more appointments will be made so as to cement the relationship between Mr. President, the Party and the State.

    “The issue of backlog of salaries remains intractable. Part of the problem of Salaries was inherited from the past government. In spite of your efforts with Bailout Funds and Paris Club Refund, which we appreciate, the challenge still remains due to the high wage bill in the average of N7.8billion which we inherited.

    “We request for a grant or soft loan to be able to pay the arrears even as we have taken steps to stabilise regular salary payment with effect from January this year.

    “Let me call on the Federal Government and states to support and promote the ranching law, so that together, we will stamp out the menace of herdsmen and farmers attacks and cattle rustling in Nigeria. There is no known better and credible alternative to ranching.”

  • Attacks push Benue pupils out of school

    Attacks push Benue pupils out of school

    Many pupils can no longer go to school in some communities in Benue State because of the herdsmen attacks. However, some individuals are finding ways to make amends in a situation where survival seems to be more important, reports UJA EMMANUEL from Makurdi.

    The second term of the 2017/2018 session is almost half way. But for over 3,000 children in Benue State, school is not in the picture.

    They are among about the 100,000 Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) taking refuge in seven camps across the state, following the sacking of their communities in Guma and Logo Local Government Areas by Fulani herdsmen last month.

    Investigations revealed that some of the children who lost their parents in the attacks are with their relations.

    Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) Primary School in Daudu, Guma is one of the IDP camps. It is serving as a temporary home for the displaced people.

    When The Nation visited the school, many of the school-aged children were seen playing  games. Some converted the classrooms into a football field, in manner that suggested they were oblivious to the irony of the situation and uncertainty it posed for their future.

    Some of the children who were not playing had found their way into Daudu Town to beg for food.

    Apart from the children in the IDP camp missing school, the conversion of the LGEA Primary School into a temporary camp has denied over 200 children in Daudu settlement primary education.

    To the children, education has assumed a secondary importance with the more pressing challenge being survival. Some of the children looked malnourished which suggested they were not well fed. It was observed that the camp lacked basic amenities, such as water, toiletries and medical services, yet the number of IDPs kept increasing within the five hours this reporter spent in the camp last Friday.

    Mrs Kwadoo Ugema, a mother of three,  aged five, nine and 14, told The Nation that she was worried about her children’s future, especially their education.

    While their education was important, she said she was more preoccupied with how to feed them.

    “You are asking me about the education of my three children? I expected you to ask me whether they have eaten today, “she said.

    She added: “One must remain alive to go to school.  There is so much hunger in the camp.  My children hardly get three square meals. I hope they will have better education outside the IDPs camp. As for now, it is survival of the fittest.

    A five-year-old member of the camp, Terwase Uma, said before the attacks, he was a pupil of LGEA Primary School, Umenger, in Guma.

    Uma said his parents were killed when the marauders attacked their home. Now he is under the care of his uncle.

    He said there was no hope of going to school again except for divine intervention, though he wished to further his education.

    School may be the last thing on seven-year-old Tersoo Anande’s mind. A victim of the attack from Umenger village, he said his uncle was killed leaving behind three children.

    “It is my responsibility to cater for children whom my uncle died and left behind although I don’t know when normalcy would return to my village,” said Anande.

    Moses Terna was teaching at LGEA Primary School, Kasseyol, Guma before the attacks forced him to take refuge in Daudu.

    He said he was pained that they had to abandon class because of insecurity.

    He, however, said he had started giving free lessons to some in the camp.

    Nevertheless, Terna lamented the difficulties in teaching, saying the camp was over populated and there were distractions.

    “I have no learning materials and the number of children and victims of the crisis in camps does not give room for conducive teaching and learning,” Terna said.

    He appealed to the government to consider the plight of the pupils and make temporary arrangement for their educational need.

    A camp official, who pleaded not to be named, said the children might be back in school within one month as Governor Samuel Ortom had directed that those in camp should leave in one month for home.

    “Within one month, there is hope that the crisis would be over and the IDPs return home,” he said, adding that some individuals had been offering free lessons to the children.

    The State Emergency Mangement Agency (SEMA) Executive Secretary, Emmanuel Shior, also said apart from free classes on camp, some of the children had joined other primary schools within the camp’s vicinity.

    He said a Catholic priest on the camp was also training the young ones pending when they would return home.

    When asked what the government was doing to address the problem, the Information Officer, Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Erdoo Sar, said the Executive Chairman of  the board, Dr Philip Tachin, had directed that a census of IDPs be taken, especially those who are supposed to be in school for an intervention she did not reveal.

    She said: “The chairman of the Board has mandated some staff members to take the census of all pupils in camp for intervention.  The intervention will cover primary, secondary and those due for Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) so that the board will support them.”

    Ortom has called on the Federal Government and international communities to donate relief materials to the IDPs, saying that the state was stretched beyond its limit.

     

  • Elder slams Olowu’s attacks on Ooni

    Elder slams Olowu’s attacks on Ooni

    An elder statesman and Obanla of Iwo in Osun State, High Chief Abiola Ogundokun, has condemned attacks on the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, by the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi.

    In a statement at the weekend in Osogbo, the capital, Ogundokun said it was unbecoming of a ruler of Oluwo’s status to disparage and abuse the Ooni on the Internet, television and newspapers

    Ogundokun said: “I plead with kabiyesi, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, as a father and senior king to Oluwo, to swallow all the falsehood and attacks being made against him by Oluwo on the social media, television and newspapers in the past one and a half years.”

    Referring to a meeting of the National Traditional Rulers Council of Nigeria (NTRCN) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, where the Oluwo reportedly accused the Ooni’s security detail of pushing him (the Oluwo) out of the way for Oba Ogunwusi to do the vote of thanks, Ogundokun said the Oluwo should be cautioned for alleged falsehood.

    The high chief cited an instance where the Oluwo said he had superior claims to the stool of Ooni of Ife because he is a direct son of Luwo before he was scolded and stopped by Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III.

    Ogundokun urged the Oluwo to be royal and disciplined.

    The high chief said the monarch should stop disgracing Iwo royal stool, adding that Iwo indigenes are courteous and hospitable.

  • ‘We lost 500 to herdsmen attacks in three months’

    Ethnic minorities in the Northcentral have said they lost over 500 persons to Fulani herdsmen attacks.

    The groups, under the aegis of Conference of Autochthonous Ethnic Communities Development Associations (CONAECDA), spoke in a statement after their meeting in Jos.

    The statement, signed by the Vice President Dr. Aboi Madaki; National Coordinator Dr. K. A.  Zuwaqu and Secretary-General Bonand Suleman Sukukum, noted that it is shameful for the Federal Government to claim it doesn’t know who the killers are.

    The statement reads: “Between September 2017 and January 11, we lost over 500 members, excluding police officers and fellow Fulani citizens. In the last 10 years, we have lost thousands of lives due to attacks on our communities.

    “Our assessment of the situation led to the conclusion that the conflicts and violence against us are the direct result of deliberate plans to achieve some set objectives. The attacks are the works of a well organised network of terrorists, who for want of a better name, we shall refer to as the “Herdsmen Terrorists Network (HTN) aka Kiwo Hala”, for this is what they are; merchants of terror.

    “Like ISIS, Alqaeda and Boko Haram, HTN does not represent Nigerian Muslims, nor the entire Fulani nation; but uses Islam and Fulbe ethnicity to recruit their members and as a rallying point. Their activities have very little to do with farming or herding.

    “This statement does not in any way seek to deny the existence of Farmers and herders conflicts. However, these conflicts have more to do with the strategic mission of the terrorists, which is to achieve political, economic, and religious advantages in pursuit of a nefarious agenda of occupation through political and violent means.

    “These terrorists intend to increase attacks against our communities, and so we call on the Federal Government to be decisive in dealing with this terror network which is already conducting genocide against our people and taking over lands of victims.

    “To press forward our demands, to show solidarity with victims, and to draw the attention of the world to the ongoing genocide against our people, we hereby declare February 10 as a day of Mourning and Solidarity with victims of Terror nationwide.”

  • Herdsmen kill Taraba monarch, 28 others in fresh attacks

    Herdsmen kill Taraba monarch, 28 others in fresh attacks

    A monarch in Taraba State and 28 others were killed during the week in fresh attacks by Fulani herdsmen.

    The attacks, which took place between Tuesday and Wednesday, occurred while the dust was yet to settle on herdsmen attacks on some Benue communities early in the year, which resulted in the death of about 70 residents.

    Many other people were said to have been injured in the Taraba incidents while scores of other people were displaced after their homes were torched by the invaders.

    No fewer than nine people were cruelly killed in separate attacks in Gishiri, Dooshima and Danwaza villages of Taraba State while another attack by the herdsmen on Karmen village, Ibi Local Government Area, left the traditional ruler, Zaki Gabriel Ukovur, dead.

    Eleven people, including women and children, were feared killed in Wukari and six others in Gassol.

    The Taraba State Broadcasting Service (TSBS) had reported yesterday that two people were killed on Tuesday when gunmen attacked Donnada village in Lau Local Government area where a mass burial of more than 68 persons took place.

    The caretaker chairman of Ibi Local Government Council, Bala Bako, who confirmed the attacks and killings to newsmen in a telephone, said the killers operate on the same network as the Fulani gunmen who attacked Logo and Guma local government areas of Benue State in the New Year, killing about 73 people.

    In Ibi Local Government Area, Bako said, the gunmen struck when the people of the area had gathered for a security meeting.

    He explained that worried by incessant attacks by Fulani militants and other security challenges, the people had converged to seek a solution, but the meeting had hardly begun when some Fulani marauders emerged from the bush and launched a deadly attack on the people.

    Bako said: “We are having security challenges in Ibi Council, and we have been making efforts to ensure that all the ethnic groups in our domain accommodate one another and live together peacefully.

    “The chief (traditional ruler) of Ibi was able to set up a committee that was sitting to find a lasting solution to the problem. It was in one of the meetings that the Fulani gunmen attacked and killed the monarch.

    “The people had gathered and were waiting for us for the security meeting when suddenly an armed Fulani man emerged and started shooting. The local chief was killed during the attack.”

    Despite wielding guns, eyewitnesses said, the attackers used sticks to hack the monarch to death in a gruesome manner.

    “It was dreadful,” one resident said.

    The council chairman said he mobilised security men who went and evacuated the corpse.

    Bako shares the same view with Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, that the killer herdsmen invaded Taraba from Nasarawa State.

    “We share border with Benue and Nasarawa states, and most times, these Fulanis cross over from Nasarawa to attack and go back.

    “We are trying to close all the routes they have been using to attack us.

    “The killings in Dooshima and Gishiri, near Sarkin Kudu, were also done by the group which attacked Benue.

    “On their way back to Nasarawa, they have been killing anyone they meet on the way,” he said.

    Confirming the attacks in a telephone conversation with our correspondent yesterday, Taraba State governor, Darius Ishaku, said some communities were being attacked by herdsmen in the state even as he spoke.

    “How can you be killing people because of grasses or cows?” he wondered.

    “Yesterday, they attacked and killed innocent people in Taraba without provocation. Today, an hour ago, they attacked some communities and killed people. Is that how people should continue to be killed?

    “The killings by Fulani herdsmen in some parts of the country is more than the feud between farmers and cattle pastoralists.

    “It is a drive for territorial control, and we need to protect the people. We must protect the country.”

    Ishaku yesterday insisted that the “Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law” has come to stay, as unprovoked attacks and killings by Fulani militants have continued unabated after mass burials of 73 persons in Benue and 68 in Taraba State.

    The governor urged the elite in Taraba State to join hands and eschew the temptation of playing politics with the security and economic wellbeing of the masses.

    Members of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria are in court challenging the anti-open grazing law which comes into enforcement January 24.

    The Taraba State Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Sahabi Tukur, told newsmen that the state government has not put in place measures to ensure that herdsmen have a smooth switch from their traditional open grazing to ranching, which he said is a more challenging system of rearing cattle.    According to him, ranching requires commitment of huge sums of money to acquire land and develop infrastructure for the benefit of the animals.

    He said: “The timing of the law is wrong because it fails to carry all the major stakeholders along, and the government has also failed to provide some of the basic infrastructure to enable the herdsmen key into the idea of ranching.

    “We have few days to the take-off of the law and not even a single foot of land has been allocated for ranching. So, what do you expect the herdsmen to do?”

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State told a delegation of All Progressive  Congress (APC) governors who visited him in Makurdi that all is still not well in the state despite assurances from the federal authorities about boosting security.

    “We thank God that peace is gradually returning to the state but there are still pockets of challenges here, we know the challenges will soon be over because our people are always alert to give useful information to security operatives around,” he said.

    He alleged continued threats by herders to unleash more terror on the people.

    ”Let me tell you that our people are still living in fear and under siege; living in fear because of the series of threat by Kautal Hore which started the threat since seven months ago, they are not mere threats,” Ortom said.

    “We have evidence against them, what we are saying is that federal government should arrest the leadership of Kautal Hore.”

    The delegation which was led by Governor  Shetima Kashim of  Borno State also comprised  Simon Lalong  (Plateau), Mallam El Rufai  (Kaduna), Yahaya Bello  (Kogi) , Mohamad Abubakar  (Jigawa) and Osun State  deputy governor Titilayo Tomori.

    Governor Kashim commiserated with the government and people of the state over the recent killings but warned against attempts by “some political dinosaur from Abuja or any part of the country to cause unnecessary issues.”

    Meanwhile,Police Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris yesterday removed Mr. Bashir Makama as the Benue State Police Commissioner.

    The immediate past Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr.Fatai Owoseni was named as Makama’s successor.

  • Attacks deliberate attempt to frustrate anti-open grazing law -Rep

    Attacks deliberate attempt to frustrate anti-open grazing law -Rep

    Hon. Orker Jev is a federal lawmaker representing Buruku Federal Constituency of Benue State. He spoke in an interview with Olugbenga Adanikin, on need for prominent northern leaders and President Muhammadu Buhari to take decisive actions on the herdsmen attack. Beyond mobilising the military, the lawmaker wants full enforcement of the anti-open grazing law with the support of security operatives.
    Excerpts: 

    PRIOR to the recent Benue attack what has been your major concern in the state?

    The concern has always been the attack on the people of Benue. I hate it when it is called clashes. People were sleeping in their houses and you came, most time in the dead of the night, and you attack them and run back. And you are talking about clashes. Who is clashing with who? These are not people who reside in the environment, so the word clashes in itself gives me a lot of anger.

    We have lived with the Fulanis over time and now, suddenly they have started to attack us. I think it was sometimes last year that Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna state and as recently as day before yesterday Governor Ganduje of Kano state, were telling us that these people are not even indigenous Fulanis to Nigeria; that they come from outside the country which makes it a worse security problem for us.

    Just because some foreigners share cultural or tribal affinities with some Nigerians, they come from outside and attack fellow Nigerians, and you look the other way! I think we have a more serious problem on our hand than we are prepared to admit, and that is why any time I have the opportunity to talk, i like to say that the President is not sincere in resolving this matter.

    Maybe because he is the patron of this Miyetti Allah group that oversees the herders. And more profoundly because he shares the same cultural affinities with the herdsmen. We know how he has been responding to other security challenges like the Boko-haram, like the South-South and elsewhere. He is decisive when it comes to tackling such, but when it comes to this issue of Fulani herdsmen, I begin to see him turning blind eyes.

    This is a situation where the military should be sent in just as the military have been sent to tackle other security challenges that are less demanding than what we have on the ground in Benue state here. Somebody was pointing out that the military is the one trained to handle such situation because the environment is not such that the police can control.

    The police are not well trained to chase enemies about in the bush. They are trained to be on the highways and in cities and other such places. You can call the Governor the Chief security officer of the state; he can seat in the same security meeting with the Commissioner of Police and Director of DSS and all of them, but if he gives them orders, will they obey? They can only take those orders if Abuja agrees, otherwise they will ignore him.  So it is the President that has the final say on what should be done and until he deplores that decisively in the case of these Fulani herdsmen in Benue and across Nigeria, we will continue to have these issues.

    Do you think the Benue anti-open grazing law is fair to all?

    If you look at section 20 Sub-section 1-3 of that law, it protects the herders; it says any cattle rustling is punishable by a fine and imprisonment. So, that among others, is what the state should take up because their main complains have been that their cattle is rustled and they do claim that at times they attack because of rustling of their cattle. So that section covers it.

    But the Miyetti Allah argued they were not informed and were never part of the formation process.

    The world has gone beyond this kind of lie. If you go online, you will see the kind of efforts the state government has made. They had been involved. Even the Miyetti Allah outside of Benue State was involved. Several meetings were held before these laws were passed and signed. Just google it. It is not something somebody can just deny; the world has gone beyond that. So, they are not being truthful on that. All these killings and denials are deliberate attempts to frustrate the law.

    What is your take on ranching?

    Of course I support it 100 per cent. That is the best. Nigeria has grown beyond the situation where you allow people to do things the way they like. We cant continue with practices we allowed 40 years back when Nigeria’s population was maybe 50 million. Now we are talking about nearly 200 million. Should we allow those practices that took place in the past.

    How will you react to the late response of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh to the crisis, especially non-presentation of the issue at FEC

    There is a saying that the ball stops at the table of the President as far as such matter is concerned. If there is no political will on the part of the President to tackle this thing, not much can be done. I might not have the details of whether he presented his position to the FEC, but what i know is that whatever we are seeing is a reflection of the attitude of the president on this matter. I am convinced that if the President wants this matter to be resolved, we will see that in his body language. So far, his body language doesn’t convince me that he wants this matter resolved. Responding after the attack and especially responding only after so much criticism, shows he is not sincere.

    Last weekend, the IGP declared the killings in Benue as communal clashes. Do you agree with this?

    Let me start with the statement of the IGP which was a most insensitive statement. The least he could have done was to come out and apologise and withdraw that statement. But you know the way we do things in Nigeria. For the IGP to come and apologies, he believe it will be seen as a sign of weakness, no. To err is human. He knows he erred. If it was a communal clash, what is the damage on the other side and what was the cause of the communal clash?

    We all know that the whole idea was to demoralise the state government and the people of Benue state from carrying on with the anti- open grazing law. If you check Leadership newspaper of 24th of October of last year, they reported a press conference held on the 23rd of October where they were boasting that they will converge on Benue land after they had already filed a court case.

    The statement meant something physical which had taken place now. I understand the governor got in touch with security agencies at the federal level to try to alert them to the impending attack. They did nothing and when it happened, they said it was a communal clash. Even if it is a communal clash, is the police not entitled to curtail the situation knowing that they had this information before these attacks happened?

    Now that the president has ordered the IGP to go there, let’s hope he goes there with more information than he exhibited when he issued that statement. That is not enough in my opinion. It’s just a reaction to the criticism that the people have given. But it’s better than nothing. What I am saying is that what is on ground requires military presence, not just the police, because the police are handicapped.

    What should Nigerians expect from the national assembly?

    After we reconvene and plenary commences next week, I am sure the matter will surface on the floor of the House. But let me state that the national assembly has its limitations when it comes to such matters. Between 2015 and now, as the chairman of the Committee on rules and business, I can tell you that we have had at least 18 motions on the floor of the House in respect to insecurity in different parts of the country.

    Even the Senate President cannot call the IGP and direct him on what he should do. He will give respect to him and when he gets out of his office he will not do it. And there is not much we can do because we are guided by the constitution. The roles that the national assembly has is that which is allocated by the constitution, so when it comes to such matters, the limitations are there.

  • Humanitarian crisis as 40,000 are displaced in Benue after attacks

    Humanitarian crisis as 40,000 are displaced in Benue after attacks

    A major humanitarian crisis has hit the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps created to accommodate Benue indigenes fleeing the herdsmen attacks which about 71 persons have died.

    No fewer than 40,000 people are in overcrowded camps which lack the basic things.

    The state has declared  three-day mourning for the victims during which flags will fly at half mast. Thursday will be work-free. Offices will close at 1pm today and tomorrow.

    The period will be rounded off with the mass burial of 71 bodies on Thursday.

    Governor Samuel Ortom, who declared the mourning period because of the killings in Logo and Guma Local Government Areas, said the mourning period will be from today till Thursday.

    A church service for the victims at the IBB Square in Makurdi will precede the mass burial.

    Guma Local Government Chairman Mr Anthony Shawon recalled that the herders invaded Saav, Mbadyen and Uvir villages on Jan.1 and retreated to the forest of Dogon Yashi, stretching from Guma to Logo on the banks of River Benue, covering over 57 kilometres..

    Shawon, who lamented the destruction of crops, farms and homes by the invaders, said survivors had left their ancestral homes and were looking for shelter in nearby towns.

    He said the state government had approved the setting up of camps for the displaced persons but regretted that the few already established were overcrowded by the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

    “The camps at Guma and Gbajimba are overcrowded, but the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) is already handling the situation because, as a local government, the scale is beyond us.”

    He regretted that the invaders, who were hiding in the Dogon Yashi forest, were still attacking villages, burning down houses and destroying crops.

    Shawon said the attackers were still destroying crops kept in farms such as soya beans, yams, guinea corn and rice.

    “They are openly grazing on farms after which they set them on fire,” he alleged.

    The chairman praised soldiers for their quick intervention in the crisis.

    He appealed to the army to enter into the forest and dislodge the herders there.

    He accused the Kabawa community in Guma of ferrying food to herdsmen in the forest in exchange for cattle.

    Shawon, however, disclosed that the Kabawa people who carried food to the herders had been arrested by the police in Abinsi.

    He regretted that the herdsmen were still grazing in defiance of the anti-open grazing law, on an open stretch of land from Mbagwen to Lokobi in the local government area.

    Executive Secretary of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) Mr. Emmanuel Shior said over 40,000 displaced persons were in various camps.

    Victims in Mbadyem and Uvir, Guma Local Government area are camped in Daudu town with over 900 displaced persons.

    Another camp is located in Ayilamo for those affected in Mbaya, Mbaiwen and Mbazaar communities in Logo local Government Area .

    The third camp is in Gbajima, headquarters of Guma Local Government Area.

    He said SEMA is overwhelmed with the number displaced persons and appealed for donation of relief materials.

    At the LGEA Primary School camp, most of the displaced persons, among them women and children, are sleeping on bare classroom floor in harmattan.The children look weak and hungry probably due of lack of proper feeding

    Women launched a protest in Makurdi against the killings.

    Dr. Eunice Ortom, the governor’s wife, who described the killings as “unjustifiable”, wept.

    The governor himself wept at the Benue State University morgue when he saw the bodies.

    “It is unfortunate. The enemy has seen us a people to waste,” Mrs Ortom said.

    Mrs. Ortom who told the women that the governor would not betray their trust and support, assured them that the administration would spare no effort to end the killings.

    She also cautioned the people against playing politics with the issue. They should be vigilant and focused, Mrs Ortom said.

    To Mrs. Elizabeth Shuluwa, who led the protesters, the killings are genocidal. She urged President Muhammadu Buhari to act fast.

    Benue Women Convener Mrs. Rebecca Apedzan expressed disappointment at Minster of Interior Abdulrahman Dambazzau’s description of the killers as “criminals” instead of “Fulani herdsmen”.

    She also bemoaned the comment by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, that the situation in Benue State is a communal crisis. She said the Fulani herdsmen are terrorists and the Federal Government should declare them as such.

    The women who carried placards with various inscriptions, such as “President, speak to them in Fulani”, “On ranching, Benue stands”, “Nigerians say no to the proposed Grazing Reserve Bill, marched on the Government house where the governor’s wife addressed them.