The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Benue

  • Eight killed in Benue

    Eight persons were killed yesterday in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.

    The House of Assembly member representing Agatu, Sule Audu, said some men were dredging sand in the river, when the gunmen attacked them.

    Audu said the bodies of the victims had been moved to the Obagaji, the council headquarters.

    The lawmaker said soldiers, who were drafted to Agatu, have continued to stay in Obagaji.

    He appealed to security officials not to restrict their movement to the council headquarters but to the nooks and crannies of all the communities in Agatu.

    The Agatu Elders Committee, in a statement by its chairman, Sule Ngbede and Secretary Abu Onum, lamented that the soldiers have not been patrolling flash points.

    Police spokesman Daniel Ezeala confirmed the incident, saying the remains of the victims have been taken to the mortuary.

  • Crack in Benue peace committee on Fulani -Tiv crisis

    A  traditional  ruler in  Benue, Chief Daniel Abomtse has described the Brig-Gen. Atom Kpera led Peace committee  on Tiv -Fulani crisis, as nothing but a waste of time and money.

    Chief Abomtse, also stated that Brig-Gen Atom Kpera lacked the capacity to solved the current Tiv -Fulani crisis because he knows noting about it, and the dynamics involved.

    Addressing news men in his Makurdi palace, Chief Abomtse, who has fled from Naka, the head quarters of  Gwer west local government area, affected by the Tiv-Fulani crisis lamented that the former military administrator is negotiating with a fraudulent fulani groups.

    Chief Abomtse, who was appointed on the peace committee by Governor Gabriel Suswam, said he warned the former Military Administrator of old Anambra and Benue during Gen. Muhammed Buhari regime ,Brig Gen Atom Kpera, was negotiating with fraudulent fulani group but he wont listen.

    ” I told him ( Atom Kpera) there has been change of leadership in Miyetta Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria(MACBAN), and he was negotiating peace with  fraudulent fulani group but rather than listen, he walked me out of the meeting.”

    The highly respected traditional ruler said, the  continued attacked on Tiv settlements in Logo and Gwer west local government areas is a clear sign that the Brig Gen Atom Kpera Benue Peace and Reconciliation Committee has failed and called on Governor Suswam to sacked the former military adminsitartor.

    Just 24 hours after Atom Kpera signed a purported peace pact to cease hostilities between Tiv and Fulani herdsmen, Tiv farmers were killed in Tombo ward and Gwer west local government, this confirmed that the committee negotiate with a fake Miyetta Allah group.

    He said one Alhaji Bedojo Bello, who Atom Kpera led Peace committee choses to negotiate the Tiv- Fulani crisis is not the President of MACBAN, but a sprinter group.

    He added that Allhaji Muhammadu Kirowa( Ardo Zuru), is the current president of MACBAN,recognized by Sultan of Sokoto, Lamido of Adamawa, Emir of Kano and that of Gwandu.

    He carpeted  the Nassaraw state governor, Tanko Al’Makura for his comment that those killed by soldiers in Keana were not insurgents but herds men at a funeral.

  • Four killed in Benue

    The carnage against Tiv farmers continued yesterday in Tse Getim and Uzer villages, Tombo ward, Logo Local Government Area of Benue State.

    Four farmers were killed by the marauders.

    The attackers took over Wukari- Abins, which is 10 minutes drive to Anyiin, the country home of Governor Gabriel Suswam.

    The councillor representing Tombo, Atindiga Tsebee, told The Nation on phone that he fled into the bush with his family.

    “I’m calling you from the bush, the Fulani militias came with weapons and started shooting at everyone they saw.

    “They also set houses ablaze in Uzer and Tse Getim. I saw four bodies,” Atindinga said.

    The councillor expressed concern that Suswam’s hometown is guarded by over 100 policemen and soldiers while the surrounding villages are left at the mercy of the Fulani.

    The Chairman of Tiv Market Union (TMU)in Tombo ward, Tyo Gumsi, said he suspected a grand plot to exterminate the Tombo people.

    Gumsi described the purported the ceasefire signed by Brig Gen. Atom Akpera and Miyetti Allah Cattle Association President Bello Badejo as a plot to sacrificed the Tombo people.

  • Army to battle Fulani bandits in Benue, Nasarawa

    Army to battle Fulani bandits in Benue, Nasarawa

    The Army is now to lead the battle against suspected Fulani herdsmen who have been attacking villages in Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau states, it was learnt yesterday. Many people have been killed in attacks on villages.

    The Defence Headquarters announced the major military response to the ongoing killings and wanton destruction of property by armed bandits in three Northcentral states.

    A statement by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, said the operation, which started on Sunday, is being coordinated by the Army.

    Gen. Olukolade said troops had already been deployed in the various enclaves and flash points from where the armed bandits launch their attacks on remote communities in the three states.

    The operation is largely aimed at capturing the itinerant armed bandits with the view to recovering their illegally acquired firearms and turning them over for investigation and prosecution.

    “The internal security operation is meant to capture and neutralise all the enclaves of criminal gangs. The Nigerian Air Force, Police and other security agencies are also participating in the operation designed to restore peace in the affected states.

    “Law abiding citizens in the affected states are enjoined to cooperate by providing timely and useful information to facilitate the operation as it affects their localities,” the statement added.

    Also yesterday, the military dismissed as “totally untrue” accusations by an international rights watchdog, Amnesty International, that government troops – currently embroiled in a prolonged conflict with Boko Haram insurgents – were committing war crimes and grave rights abuses.

    “We cannot understand these claims of human rights abuses against our men who are putting their lives in danger to ensure the safety of the masses,” Gen. Olukolade said yesterday.

    In a report dated March 31, the London-based Amnesty International asserted that increasing Boko Haram attacks and “uncontrolled reprisals” by security forces had killed at least 1500 people – more than half of them civilians – in the first quarter of 2014.

    “The scale of atrocities carried out by Boko Haram is truly shocking, creating a climate of fear and insecurity,” the report stated.

    “But this cannot be used to justify the brutality of the response that is clearly being meted out by Nigeria’s security forces,” it added.

    Amnesty cited a daring March 14 attack by Boko Haram militants on a military barracks in Maiduguri, aimed at freeing hundreds of detained group members.

    “Amnesty International has received credible evidence that, as the military regained control, more than 600 people, mostly unarmed recaptured detainees, were extra-judicially executed in various locations across Maiduguri,” it said.

    “The international community cannot continue to look the other way in the face of extrajudicial executions, attacks on civilians, and other crimes under international law being committed on a mass scale,” Amnesty asserted.

    The Nigerian army spokesman described the report as “unfair and totally untrue”.

    Gen. Olukolade said government troops were constantly reminded of the need to respect human rights and ensure that no innocent person is harmed.

    “We have some of the most professional soldiers in the world.

    “Our men understand and follow through on the rules of engagement, even as they engage faceless enemies who have wasted thousands of innocent lives and destroyed public infrastructure,” Gen. Olukolade added.

  • Tiv/ Fulani declare cease fire in Benue

    • Five killed

    Tiv farmers and Fulani herdsmen have declared cessation of hostilities after three years of bloody fighting.

    But just as representatives of the ethnic groups were addressing a briefing at the banquet hall of the Government House, Makurdi, suspected Fulani herdsmen struck in Tombo ward, Logo Local Government Area, killing five Tiv farmers.

    They were shot at Tse Makir, Ukpough and Fofi, a stone’s throw from Anyiin town, the country home of Governor Gabriel Suswam.

    At the briefing were Deputy Inspector General of Police(DIG) Operations, Force Headquarters, Michael Zoukumor, President of Miyetti Allah Bello Bodejo and Chairman , Benue Conflict Resolution and Peace Building Committee, Brig.-Gen. John Atom Kpera.

    The warring parties said they saw the crises as needless and avoidable, and called for cessation of hostilities.

    The resolution, which was read by Gen. Kpera, said Tiv and Fulani herdsmen agreed to work together to set up a joint task force to check the activities of criminals on both sides.

    The resolution urged everyone to avoid taking law into their hands and peddling false rumours.

    It also called for the dismantling of all illegal road blocks.

    Zuokumour , AIG Adeola Adeniji and Commissioner of Police Adams Audu were witnesses.

    A community leader in Tombo ward, Tyo Gumsi, told The Nation that they did not believe in the peace deal because Fulani herdsmen still occupied Tiv settlements.

    Gumsi said some Fulani herdsmen killed five farmers at Ukpoghul, Fofi and Tse Makir. He described the peace deal as an exercise in futility, if the marauders are not driven out of Tiv settlement which they occupy .

    Zuokumor assured both parties that policemen will enforce the peace agreement.

  • 100 vehicles for Benue SURE-P scheme

    100 vehicles for Benue SURE-P scheme

    The Ibrahim Babangida Square (IBB) in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, is a popular venue for hosting local and international events.

    The square hosted about 8,800 beneficiaries of the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) from the 23 local government areas of the state.

    During the event, Governor Suswam launched 100 vehicles comprising 50 taxis and 50 buses for the SURE-P transportation scheme.

    Suswam said some beneficiaries of the programme would be employed as teachers; some as nurses and would be posted to schools and hospitals in the state.

    He said 500 sportsmen and women were undergoing training in sports development.

    The governor said the programme is for unemployed youths, warning that he will sanction any civil servant who takes part in the scheme.

    He said: “Government has concluded arrangement to absorb participants of   SURE-P into the public service after retirement, noting that only those who performed exceptionally would be considered.”

    On the transportation scheme, Governor Suswam said 100 vehicles have been procured for the initial take off, while more vehicles would be made available as the scheme grows.

    Earlier, Chairman of SURE-P Implementation Committee and the state’s Head of Service, Mr. Terna Ahua said under the Subsidy Re-investment programme, 8,800 youths have been engaged and are participating in key sectors after undergoing re-orientation.

    Mr. Ahua further said those engaged would soon receive letters of posting to any of the 23 local government areas of the state.

    He said the beneficiaries were lucky, even as he advised them to make optimal use of the opportunity.

    High point of the event was cutting of the tape by Governor Suswam to launch the 100 vehicles for the scheme.

  • Benue Commissioner dies in India

    Benue State Commissioner for Water Resources, Conrad Wergba is dead.

    He died Wednesday in an Indian Hospital.

    Secretary to the State Government, Dr David Salisu confirmed the death of Wergba who first served as Special Adviser to Governor Gabriel Suswam and was later appointed Information and Orientation Commissioner.

    He  was moved to the  Water Resources Ministry in the last minor cabinet reshuffle.

  • Couple die in early morning fire in Benue

    Couple die in early morning fire in Benue

    An early morning fire Saturday claimed the lives of a couple, Raymond and Florence Avaan in Akphehe,  Makurdi, Benue State
    One of the tenants Prince Chile Matter  who survived but lost all his property to the inferno stated that the cause of the fire which started after 12 midnight has not been ascertained but said a sudden power surge from the public source may have sparked the inferno.
    Late Raymond who hails from Gwer local government area of the  State was a teacher with the Anglican Nursery and Primary School, High Level, Makurdi while his wife, a Nasarawa State indigene was also a school teacher in that state.
    Until his death the Raymond was a prominent community leader who organized a thrift and loans scheme and was also Secretary of the Electrification Committee in the area.
    The police have removed the remains of the couple to the Federal Medical Center, Makurdi.
    Those who spoke The Nation described the late Raymond Avaan as a easy going man .
  • Exercise smooth in Benue

    Exercise smooth in Benue

    THE Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) joined other branches yesterday to register its members in the 23 local government areas.

    As early as 7.30am, materials had been distributed to the three senatorial districts.

    The state APC Membership Registration Committee Chairman Simon Lalong, from Plateau State, told The Nation that the materials had been distributed and that the exercise was going on well.

    He said party officials handling the registration were trained for three days before they were sent to the wards in Benue State.

    APC’s ex-officio member, Nelson Alapa, told our reporter that three party officials were appointed in each senatorial zone to oversee the distribution. They are: Col. Edwin Jando (rtd), for Zone A; Conrad Utaan, for Zone B and Aiyegege Onoja, for Zone C.

    Col. Jando said the materials for his zone would be distributed at Katsina Ala.

  • 2,000 PDP members join APC

    2,000 PDP members join APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has welcomed 2,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Mbangur, Mbadede ward of Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State.

    The Interim State Chairman, Targema Takema, described APC as a party, which cares for Nigerians.

    He said PDP was in the hands of Tiv leaders but it was hijacked by some people, who denied Tiv people employment.

    According to the chairman, President Goodluck Jonathan joined others in marginalising the Tiv people. He said of the 29-member National Conference Committee, no Tiv man was appointed.

    “Four Idoma natives are serving in that committee. Any true Tiv man who wants to ‘eat and die’ should remain in the PDP.”

    He praised a House of Assembly member, Mrs. Dorothy Mato, for ensuring the defection of the PDP members from her constituency.