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.”