The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Benue

  • Benue PDP demands release of former Governor Suswam

    The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) Benue state chapter has called for the immediate release of former Governor Gabriel Suswam .

    Gabriel Suswam was arrested by Director of State Services (DSS) after he honoured an invitation in Abuja.

    His arrest is said to be in connection with  insecurity in Sankera geo- political zone comprising Ukum – Logo and Katsina Ala local government area in Benue state .

    The former Governor hails from Logo Local Government area .

    The area had been under massive attacks  from men suspected be to Fulani herdsmen since January, 2018.

    Addressing journalist in Hallydays Hotel Resort in Makurdi ,Benue state capital ,PDP Publicity Secretary Comrade   Bemgba Iortyom said the former Governor should be released on bail of charged to court .

    Comrade Bemgba expressed concerned that since his arrest and detention, the DSS was yet to explained to Nigerians the offence which he committed.

    The Publicity Secretary was accompanied to the press conference by  some PDP chieftains including  Tim Nyor and   Hon .Terwase Aondokaa

    Earlier, security men had stopped a planned  peaceful protest to demand for the release of the former  governor on Monday.

  • Benue rejects Fed. Govt proposed pilot ranching scheme

    Benue Tribal Leaders have rejected the Federal Government proposed Pilot cattle ranching in Benue state.
    The ethnic groups said they  view the plan as another attempt to grab their land and give it to herdsmen.

    In a statement signed on their  behave by the President of Mzough – U- Tiv,  Chief Edward Ujege , and made available to The Nation stated that while they agreed ranching is the best method of animal husbandry globally , they rejected the used of public funds to construct ranches for a private business of cattle cattle rearing.

    The group also reiterated their called for the arrest and prosecution of Miyetti Allah Kaul Hore for their complicity in Benue killings.

    The state reads thus: Our attention has been brought to a publication in several national dailies concerning the establishment of pilot cattle ranches in 10 states of the country including Benue.

    The proposed project which has a 10 year plan is estimated to gulp N179 billion and N70 is to be sourced by the Federal Government to commence the project.

    While we appreciate the position of the Federal Government to accept ranching as the global best method of animal’s husbandry, which has been our position in Benue State, we reject the idea by the FG to use public funds to construct ranches for a private business of cattle rearing.

    We wish to state that cattle rearing remains a private business in the world and Nigeria in particular just like crop farming and should be treated as such.

    There is a law on Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment enacted by the Benue State government and the law makes explicit provisions for those interested in the business of rearing cattle to come forward, acquire land and build ranches.

    These herders will also have to abide by the terms and conditions of the land acquisition and the host communities will also have a sense of belonging.

    As we reaffirm our support and stance for this law and all its provisions, we view the attempt by the Federal Government to build ranches for herders in our state as a grand plan to grab our land and give it to herdsmen in the name of ranches.

    We wish to also reiterate our earlier call on the Federal Government to arrest and prosecute the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore for their complicity in the Benue killings.

    If these people are not arrested and interrogated for threatening to invade our communities and carrying out their threats, we will continue to treat both the Federal Government and our killers as one.

  • Fed Govt to build 94 ranches in 10 states

    •NEC okays N179b for 10-year plan

    Ninety-four ranches are on the way in 10 states prone to herdsmen/farmers clashes.

    The National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has approved a 10-year National Livestock Plan which will cost about N179 billion. All 36 state governors are members of the NEC.

    About N70 billion of the budget will disbursed between now and the expiration of  President Muhammadu Buhari’s first four-year tenure next year.

    The project is expected to take off in Benue and Nasarawa states any time from now.

    These disclosures were made by NEC representatives, including Governor Samuel Ortom, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Audu Ogbe, and the Coordinator of the plan, Dr. Andrew Kwasari, at a session with editors in Abuja.

    The session was facilitated by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) – a non-government organisation.

    Ogbe, who said “open grazing is no longer viable”, said cattle rearers would be the greatest beneficiaries in the next few years.

    He also said the Federal Government has no intention of seizing anybody’s land by force.

    A technical presentation of the NEC-approved plan, including the enumeration of the six key pillars on which the plan is built, was made by Kwasari.

    He said: “In addition to loss of human lives, it is estimated that Nigeria loses about $14 billion (N5.04 trillion) annually to herdsmen-farmers’ conflicts.

    “Domestic annual milk production in Nigeria is only 400 million litres, resulting in supply

    gap of about 700 million litres.

    “To fill these growing gaps, Nigeria spends a large amount of its scarce foreign exchange resource to import livestock products, with average of $480.6 million (N173.3 billion) worth of milk imports alone per year.

    “The National Livestock Implementation Plan is a mediation plan stemming from meetings and recommendations of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and the National Economic Council (NEC) in 2017 as regards state interventions following the incessant pastoralist-farmer conflicts.

    “We are going to have 94 ranches in 10 states. We have received 21 gazetted grazing reserves from seven states. Plan focuses on pilot intervention in the frontline states Adamawa, Benue, Edo, Ebonyi,  Kaduna,  Nasarawa, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba, and Zamfara.

    “A Ranch Design Plan has also been proposed in models of various sizes clustered in 94 locations in the 10 pilot states. We will have clusters  of 30, 60, 150, and 300 cow ranch models in a location within the donated and gazetted grazing reserves.

    “The total spending for the 10-year period is slightly in excess of N179 billion. Funding for the first three years of the pilot phase is about N70 billion.

    “The ranch is also designed as an integrated business which makes provision for (a) the development of commercial crop production to support livestock through the supply of quality fodder and other feed materials, (b) the formation of producers into clusters to create viable ranch herd sizes, and (c) creation of cooperatives to facilitate improved access to inputs, infrastructure, finance, markets, and support services.”

    The minister said there was no going back on the creation of ranches, dismissing the insinuation that the government planned to seize land from owners or communities.

    He said the conflicts between herdsmen and farmers were not about anti-open grazing laws.

    His words: “So the conflict didn’t begin because the laws were passed. No, the conflict has been brewing but the laws were enacted in desperation by a state. Farmers went to the governor and complained, ‘they are killing us’, so the governor says, ‘let me pass a law’. If we did what we are doing now 20 years ago, we will not be where we are now.

    “The truth is that open grazing is no longer viable. We may not end it in one day, but it has to end and government has to help. This conflict is not peculiar to Nigeria alone; it’s happening in Argentina; it happened in  the U.S . in the 19th century, in Pakistan and others. So, this is what we should have started doing 20 years ago. We didn’t and that’s why we are where we are.

    “Lastly, the government has no intention of seizing anybody’s land. So, the idea that somebody is going to forcefully take the land is not true. In Fashola’s farm , there are Fulani residents there who speak Yoruba fluently.

    “One of them said, ‘we have found peace here’. They produce fresh milk for Friesland Capina. If you see the turnover of Friesland Capina during their annual turnover, you will be amazed. These are the issues.

    “The ECOWAS Treaty says free movement of human, animals and goods. We had a meeting with the ECOWAS ministers here. We are going to have another. We will tell them, ‘you must do what Nigerians want’. Roaming around is no longer an answer. We may have to shut our borders. How large is the Nigerian border space? 4037 square kilometres is the landmass from Sokoto to Badagry and from Borno to Calabar. Added up it’s plus 830 kilometres of coastline. Half of our borders are open . Should we build a wall? People wander in and out. So it is a very complex thing.

    “When we implement this thing, how do we prevent cows from West Africa marching in when they like with no respect for our tradition and cultures? These are the problems we face.

    In these ranches, we can then say nomadic education can work, the Fulani are in clusters. By 5am, they milk their cows and sell to the milk processing plants which will be installed there. They begin to realise that it pays to stay.

    “There is an experiment we did in Kano. The firm tried to settle a number of herdsmen in a location and they gave scholarship to their children. If your male child is in school, they buy your milk for N120 per litre but if your girl child is in school, they buy it for N140 per litre and believe me, every morning Fulani send their children to school while they milk their cows. They have to be in one place. So a lot of incentives will come and we will use the cow dungs to generate electricity.”

    Benue State Governor  Samuel Ortom said over 180,000 internally displaced persons were in eight camps in the state.

    He said:  “We have over 180,000 IDPs in eight camps and over 5,000 people living with relatives. We have had massive support from all over the world and this is attributed to the media, and I commend this.

    “ I believe that after this interaction, there will be more to do. The Presidency is not sleeping. They have devised various ways in giving us additional information to help us shape our opinions and also express our opinions on how best this challenge can be surmounted.

    “A committee had earlier been set up, headed by my colleague from Ebonyi and, unfortunately, he is not here. He and members of his committee visited Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, Adamawa, and Zamfara states. Of course, they came back with a report, which was considered and far-reaching decisions were taken as to how they will summon this challenge.

    “I’d like to appreciate the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for his able leadership and for helping us to come this far. People say from where I come that ignorance is darker than the night and so when you’re informed, you’re in a better position to represent issues properly.

    “For me, as the governor of Benue State and someone who has been affected by recent challenges of farmers and herdsmen, I must commend the media in Nigeria. You have done very well, and maybe for other states that have been affected as well, you have represented the issues well.”

    General Manager of Capital FM Mercy Njoku, said the engagement was  designed to enable the media to understand the herdsmen-farmers conflicts.

    She said: “It is important for the press to have a clear understanding of what is happening.

    “I know every media person wants peace, stability and development.

    We want a country where there will be peace, security and economic boom.”

  • Police kill two suspected robbers in Benue

    Benue State Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni has said his men killed two suspected armed robbers during an exchange of gunfire in Katsina Ala-Zakibiam axis of the state.

    He said four rifles, comprising three AK-47 and one G, with 16 rounds of live ammunition and three AK-47 magazines, were recovered from suspects.

    Addressing reporters ahead of this weekend’s Eid-el-Fitr celebration, which marks the end of Ramadan fasting, the police chief said the command recorded tremendous successes in the fight against crime in the last two weeks.

    He said three Toyota cars used for robbery were recovered.

    On news trending on the social media that there was a plan attacked on Benue valley by suspects herdsmen after the end of Ramadan, Owoseni assured the residents that a Joint Task Force (JTF) comprising the police, the Army, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other security agencies had been deployed across the state for the safety of life property.

    The police chief urged the residents to go about their businesses without fear.

    He assured them that effort were in top gear to return Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their ancestral homes.

    According to him, most of them had started returning to their homes.

    Owoseni said the police had arrested 44 persons in connection with the bloody clash between Mbamar and Ugambe community in Konshisha Local Government Area.

     

  • Senate oppose call for abrogation of anti-open grazing law

    …Wants minister to withdraw commend on state laws

     

    The Senate Wednesday asked the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, to immediately withdraw his statement seeking the annulment of Anti-Open Grazing Law enacted by some states.

    This is coming less than twenty four hours after the Federal Government restated its position that the enactment of Anti-Open Grazing Law in Benue and Taraba State was the main reason fueling unabating killings in the states.

    The upper chamber adopted a resolution asking Dan-Ali to withdraw what it described as inaccurate assessment of the cause of killings in parts of the country without delay.

    The lawmakers insisted that State Houses Assembly like the National Assembly have the right to make laws for the good governance of states especially under the Land Use Act of 1977 as it has to do with land matters.

    Dan-Ali, had in a statement signed by Colonel Tukur Gusau at the end of a lengthy security meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, said that there was “the need to employ other channels with the affected states to reduce tension by suspending the implementation of the Anti-Open Grazing Law while also negotiating safe routes for the herders.”

    The minister’s statement was said to be part of the resolutions reached at the Security Council meeting, which had all the security chiefs in attendance.

    The Anti-Open Grazing Law passed in Benue, Taraba and Ekiti States.

    Abia State is said to have also adopted the same law.

    The resolution to demand the withdrawal of the minister’s statement for the abrogation of the law followed the adoption of a motion by Senator Barnabas Gemade (Benue North East) on the need for Dan-Ali to be made to withdraw the statement.

    Read Also:Defence Minister, two others to carry out assessment of Boko Haram attack

    Gemade posited that the enactment of the law by some states did not in any way contravene the constitution of the country.

    He noted that the position that the enactment of the law by Benue and Taraba was the cause of killing in part of the country does not hold water.

    Gemade noted for instance that massive killings have been going on in Zamfara State that did not enact the Anti-Open Grazing Law.

    He said that the implication of Dan-Ali’s statement was that the federal government has not been able to find out the cause of killings in the country.

    Senator John Owan Enoh supported Gemade’s position.

    The Cross River Central lawmaker noted that killings had been going on for years before some states enacted the Anti-Open Grazing Law.

    Enoh said: “If killings have been going on for over seven years, I don’t think going against anti-grazing laws will be the solution. It is unfortunate that after a security meeting, the only solution they could come up with was a ban on anti-open grazing.

    “Sometimes, we begin to wonder if these herdsmen are being protected. The Senate needs to rise up and make a statement that the anti-grazing law is against not responsible for the killings. It also means that these people in authority still don’t have any solutions to these mindless killings.”

    Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, (Taraba South) added that Zamfara State, where the Minister of Defence hails from, did not have any anti-open grazing law.

    Bwacha said that it is on record that Zamfara state has the highest number of killings carried out by herdsmen.

    He said, “The Minister of Defence is from Zamfara State. There is no anti-grazing law there. But there are more killings there than you have in Benue and Taraba. Even in my state of Taraba, five people were killed by herdsmen. I don’t know if these people are killed by Libyan trained terrorists.”

  • Police arrest 188 suspects in Benue

    Benue State Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni has said the command arrested 188 suspected criminals for various offences within one month.

    Addressing reporters in Makurdi, the state capital, on the efforts of the police to reduce criminal activities in the state, Owoseni said the command had reduced crime across the state.

    The offences of the suspects, the police chief said, include robbery, cultism, murder, attacks on farmers and possession of illegal arms.

    On cult-related activities, he said three persons were killed in Otukpo, Benue South, during a clash between Black and Red cult groups. Owoseni said the chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, George Ali, in collaboration with a police team, arrested 19 suspected cult members, who reportedly confessed their involvement and were charged to court.

    On the clash between farmers and Fulani herdsmen, the police commissioner said most of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state had started returning to their ancestral homes while the attacks had also reduced with the increased deployment of federal troops.

    He added that cases of armed robbery and kidnapping in Ukum, Logo and Katsina Ala local government areas, were attributed to associates of wanted warlord Terwase Akwaza (aka Gana).

     

    Owoseni assured Benue State residents that policemen had been mobilised to deal with the situation.

    The police chief said 14 suspected robbers were arrested within one month under review and recovered three AK-49 rifles and four AK-47 rifles and 23 locally-made pistols.

    He added that locally-made pistols were manufactured to used AK-47 ammunitions.

    As part of community service, Owoseni said the command had donated books, slippers, clothes and food items to children in IDP camps in Daudu and Anyiin.

     

     

  • Herdsmen kill 10 in Benue community , burn houses

    Suspected Fulani herdsmen have attacked and killed ten Tiv farmers in Tse- Adough, Iyaav district , near Jato Aka,Kwande Local Government area in Benue state .

    The traditional ruler of the area, Mue Ter Ichnogo Chief Simon Baver, who confirmed the killing of his subjects also  said many houses have been set ablaze .

    Chief Baver told The Nation on phone that Fulani herdsmen armed with sophisticated weapons stormed the farming community of Tse Adough at about 4 am .

    He said they surrounded the entire settlement ,some shot in the air, while others shot on the doors and killed those who attempted to escape  in the melee that ensured .

    He said some children were burnt beyond recognition and have to be hurriedly buried while others are still missing .

    ” Many houses were also set ablaze ,including food stuff , personal belongings and farm land destroyed ”

    According to the head of the community ,the fulani militia who have held the area hostage for five  years operated for almost three  hours unchallenged and  soldiers posted to the area did not come to their rescue .

    The Nation gathered that part of the area, especially Moon District have been under siege for five years as Fulani herdsmen have sacked the entire settlement and occupied their houses just and the people who are mainly farmers have not return to their ancestral home .

    Last year ,Governor Samuel Ortom ,with his Taraba counterpart brokered a peace deal for the Fulani herdsmen to vacate the area ,but shortly after ceremony ,the deal collapsed .

    At press time Benue Police Command said they are yet to get the report .

    However Chief Simon  Baver said he was with the Divisional Police Officer ( DPO) of Kwande Division and was expecting the chairman of Kwande Local Government for emergency security meeting.

    Moon, Tse- Adough and other settlements shares boundary with Taraba and Cameron and have been under sustained Fulani herdsmen attack for more than ten  years .

    A community leader in Moon District Chief Abo Uta , told The Nation that they want the federal government to save them fro extermination as the Fulani herdsmen are planning to wipe them out of existence .
    Chief Uta condemned the killing of harmless farmers and urged security agencies to live up to their responsibility of protecting lives and property

  • Benue: 7 killed, woman abducted by suspected herdsmen

    The Chairman, Kwande Local Government Council of Benue, Mr Terdoo Kenti, has confirmed the killing of seven persons and injury of six others by suspected herdsmen.

    Kenti also told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone on Sunday in Makurdi that the attackers also abducted a woman during the incident on Saturday night at Tseadough village.

    Tseadough is a village in Mbachom, Yaav Council Ward near Jato Aka, the ancestral home of Tiv people in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue.

    He added that the attackers also burnt down several houses in the community.
    Kenti said that the yet to be identified gunmen came unnoticed on the fateful night.

    According to him, the remains of the victims have been deposited at the mortuary while those with various degrees of machete wounds were taken to hospital for treatment.

    He appealed to the people to remain calm in-spite of the unprovoked attack and warned against any form of reprisal, adding that security agencies had been informed of the incident.

    Besides, the chairman said that all relevant authorities had been briefed over the incident. (NAN)

  • We adopted different strategies to curb farmers, herdsmen clashes – Police

    The Commissioner of Police in Benue, Mr Fatai Owoseni, said that the command had adopted different strategies to curtail clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the state.

    Owoseni, who made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, noted that the clashes between the two groups was a major security challenge in the state.

    “The major security challenge in Benue is the herdsmen and farmers clashes and different approaches have been used to check it,” he said.

    The commissioner said that the approaches adopted by the command to contain the incident included dialogue, intelligence policing as well as involvement of communities in activities of the command.

    He explained that normal strategies of policing and community-based strategies in policing were also adopted to check the security challenges.

    “The security architecture has been put in place after IG-P Ibrahim Idris went to the state for an assessment before I was deployed to the state,” he said.

    He added that the command had followed the strategies adopted all along and utilised both human and material resources available.

    The commissioner said that the deployment of 15 Police Mobile Units (PMF) to the state was an added advantage.

    He said that the command’s good working relationship with sister security agencies and support of the state government helped in curtailing the challenge.

    The commissioner said that a number of arrest have been made in connection to the clashes and they were being prosecuted in the court.

    “Every security institution that is present in Benue is up and doing, quite a number of arrest were made and the police, being the institution through which prosecution is made, the suspects are being arraigned in court.

    “The Army, NSCDC and members of the public do arrest and handover to us. I won’t be able to give the exact figure but quite a number of arrests have been made and they have been arraigned in court,” he said.

    On cultism, he said that a number of arrests have been made, adding that the new cultism law had also addressed the issue in the state.

    “We are lucky that the state has a new law that addresses the issue of cultism that is stringent and those arrested have been charged to court under the law,” he said.

    He urged Benue people to continue to support security agencies in the state as the task of securing the community was not just that of security agencies.

    Owoseni reminded Nigerians and Benue people in particular that there was no name tag to crime and criminality.

    “The earlier that we realise that there shouldn’t be colouration of any kind be it ethnic, religious or political to crime and criminality and to criminals the better for us in Benue and Nigeria,” he said. (NAN)

  • Benue is in my blood, and that blood is gushing!

    I would be remiss not to say anything about the gruesome killings of scores of innocent people in the North Central part of Nigeria by cattle herdsmen; ongoing even as you read, you would only need to go past this page and then read through the rest of this paper and find a news item indicating that more people have been killed.

    Worse; It could be that more are being killed currently so one would get to see the news in tomorrow morning papers. PRAY WHEN WILL IT END? WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENDING IT?

    At the start of 2018, the “Happy” in Happy New Year was dimmed for all Nigerians (save of course, the blood-thirsty).

    That was occasioned by the disturbingsight of the Benue Mass Burial thatpressed home the grim reality of the massacre of 73 innocent, defenseless victims of Benue killings.

    Indeed, Nigeria started the year mourning with Benue – now we are still being made to mourn some more! On Sunday April 29, on the INSIGHT pullout of The Nation page 1, was the story: Nigeria’s Killing Field: Alarm Over Security Crisis, by Dare Odufowokan. He stated the attacks are a daily affair now, he said -daily attacks on innocent Nigerians, have led to deaths of thousands of innocent Nigerians.

    The same Dare Odufowokan had written extensively in The Nation under the special UPFRONT titled: Herdsmen Nightmare, even as far back as the second week in January.

    It is utterly distressing to find that the alarm was raised in vain.

    The Benue situation is really pathetic, more so as the survivors are not even ‘allowed’ to survive.

    In that April 29th INSIGHT, it stated that in Benue, suspected herdsmen had invaded a church and killed seven persons. What is worthy of note is that those seven murdered, were only taking refuge in that church after having been displaced by an earlier herdsmen attack!

    I just do not get it.Would it take a PhD in Criminology with 20 years’ experience in the CIA before the ones in charge would know that at the very least; the place where survivors escape to ought to be secured?

    Haba!!

    The refugee situation is estimated at over two hundred thousand people in Benue State, raising another question: why has the relevant federal agency not gone to take a head count and come up with the (correct) figures of internally displaced persons currently in Benue? Are they waiting for me to go and tell them to? Not knowing those figures is a clear indication that their (the IDPs’) welfare is only left to the vagaries of chance. The Benue State House of Assembly requested the State Governor Samuel Ortom to brief the House on actions that have been taken by the State Security Council to halt the killings of Benue citizens.

    It is really time to look into these mass murders, these cold -blooded killingsat the national level, not only in Benue State but in other affected states in the federation. I recall with sadness the gruesome killings of seventy innocent people in Zamfara State somemonths back.

    Yes action has been taken this year and indeed security forces have been deployed. Has it worked? NO.

    Hear Mallam Yakubu Kuzamani,National Publicity Secretary, Southern Kaduna People’s Union, SOKAPU-

    “We are actually wondering why the government continues to adopt the same strategy with regards to security, when such a strategy has not translated into stopping these attacks and killings. Issuing press statements after each attack with intent to show empathy, and even announcing the redeployment of more troops also looks good, but has not stopped the attacks. Rather these approaches, good and commendable as they look, have not curbed the killings because they are all reactionary in strategy”.

    … Well, Nigerians are finally reacting now. After witnessing one mass burial too many this past week, peaceful protest were staged across several state capitals on Tuesday to protest the mass killings by herdsmen in some parts of the country. Apart from some places like Niger State where the police denied would- be protesters the permit to hold protests, in other parts of the country, the protest marches went on successfully. These were peacefulprocessions and marches organized to coincide with Tuesday’s mass burial of victims.  The burial was conducted by the Benue State government. In his remarks at the burial the Governor of Benue State Samuel Ortom said that the state was conducting mass burials for the third time this year!!

    I have watched a televised mass said by the Pope, Pope Francis in the Vatican on one of the special days (it was  Easter or so), and I felt really bad as I heard him call on people everywhere around the world to pray for the innocent Nigerians being killed in their country. Now I hear he is being invited to come and see things for himself.

    The Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar II has said that those killing innocent people, especially in the Middle Belt were criminals who should be arrested and punished.

    I agree, and right away, right now too.

     

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