The Nation Newspaper

Tag: bloodbath

  • ‘Ogoni re-entry plan is recipe for crisis, bloodbath’

    The Ogoni Elders’ Forum, Gbo Kabaari Ogoni, has described the Federal Government’s Ogoni re-entry project execution plan, without genuine and constructive engagement with Ogoni stakeholders, as a recipe for crisis and bloodbath.

    The group, consisting of elder statesmen and seasoned professionals of Ogoni extraction, at an interactive session with reporters yesterday, kicked against the Oil Mining Lease (OML)-11 Ogoni re-entry plan “through the back door and adopting divide-and-rule tactics”.

    The Ogoni leaders, from the four Local Government Areas of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme in Rivers State, said the concluded arrangements by the Federal Government to re-enter Ogoni through Korokoro in Tai council were ill advised, insensitive and ill-timed, “considering that the polluted Ogoni environment had not been cleaned despite the August 4, 2011 submission of the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the environmental assessment of Ogoniland”.

    The elders at the interactive session included the Chairman, Senator Bennett Birabi; Secretary Dr. Desmond Nbete and a former President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) Ledum Mitee, among others.

    They said: “We are intervening to avert crisis in Ogoniland. We have now received more detailed and very credible information showing that the Federal Government has begun activities, including procurement preliminaries and timelines, for the Ogoni re-entry project.

    “It is more disturbing that the planned activities to re-enter Ogoniland, deliberately failed to recognise that oil activities in Ogoni and OML-11 have a unique history that cannot be wished away by an executive fiat for a re-start of oil exploration and production activities, without duly engaging the people in a proper and painstaking conversation. We have observed that the planned re-entry programme violates industry standards and global best practices.

    “Production activities in OML-11 stopped about 26 years ago, and in line with industry practices, such fields like OML-11 ought to be treated as Green Fields and not Brown Fields. It is thus not acceptable to summarily commission an Early Production Facility (EPF) to start oil production, without the necessary procedures and approvals for a Green Field development. We expect that the extant provisions and industry regulations for Green Fields will be triggered and followed appropriately.”

    Gbo Kabaari Ogoni added that the group’s checks with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Federal Ministry of Environment and the other stakeholders, showed that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) had been done for the re-entry project.

    “Any clean-up that is going on in Ogoniland or in Korokoro specifically is still inchoate. The Federal Government’s projected timeline of the second quarter of 2019 for first oil in Korokoro Oilfield is unscientific, insensitive and inconsistent with all extant regulations, industry standards and global best practices.

    “Information at our disposal shows that the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has already shortlisted contractors for Well Services Contract, through selective bidding criteria.

    “While we do not have any interest in interfering with the procurement process, however, such black-box secretive procurement process is a red flag to all stakeholders. The indigenous contractors in Ogoni have only been earmarked for grass cutting and other menial jobs, while our checks at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) show that the companies already shortlisted have no Ogoni content.”

    The Ogoni professionals said they were not against the resumption of oil production in Ogoniland, but insisted that things must be done rightly to ensure peace and move the neglected area forward.

    The Anglo/Dutch oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company or Nigeria Limited (SPDC), was sent packing from Ogoniland in 1993, while a renowned environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and eight other Ogoni martyrs were hanged at the Port Harcourt Prisons on November 10, 1995, during the regime of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.

  • Kaduna bloodbath

    •We welcome the establishment of military and police formations in the troubled areas

    With about 61 persons killed following the attack by armed bandits on Gwaska village in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, the question on the lips of many is: will there ever be an end to the insensate and senseless killings that are being recorded in several parts of the country in recent times? Frightening stories of bloodbath have dominated the media space, with nary a day that violence involving loss of lives or properties would not be reported in one part of the country or the other.

    In the specific Gwaska case, some bandits invaded the village at about 7.00 p.m. on Saturday and started shooting sporadically. They also burnt down several houses. An official of Birnin-Gwari Vanguard for Security and Good Governance said of the attack: “It was a horrific situation at Gwaska Village in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area, when 45 bodies were evacuated by the brave vigilantes and volunteers.” The casualty figure has been rising since then. Unfortunately, most of the victims were the volunteers that were defending the villagers from the marauders. Quite unfortunately too, about 14 local miners were killed by some gunmen in the local government barely a week earlier.

    We wonder why the bandits could still operate in the area given that the Kaduna State Police Command had earlier deployed a special strike force code-named ‘Operation Restore Hope’ to curb the activities of terrorists, armed robbers, cattle rustlers and other criminal elements in the Kuyanbana and Kaumuku forests in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of the state. What this means is that the police had identified the area as a flashpoint, hence the deployment of the special force there.

    The Federal Government has to get its act together and deal decisively with the security breaches in the country. Too many small arms appear to be in the wrong hands. Yet, security of lives and property is the raison d’être of any government; this is why government should not share its monopoly of the weapons of violence with anyone, lest it become a lame duck.

    We note and indeed commend the Federal Government’s approval of the establishment of a new battalion of the Nigerian Army and new police command in the local government area, as part of measures to beef up security there. This is probably its own way of acknowledging the inadequacy of the ‘Operation Restore Hope’ to put an end to the orgy of violence in the place. But the point must be made that having a battalion in the local government area alone cannot guarantee an end to the mindless killings. Both the military and police formations there must be well equipped to make their impact felt. They must be battle ready to respond to distress calls at the snap of a finger. Above all, they must be prepared to carry out their assignment in the most professional manner and without fear or favour.

    In the same vein, the security agencies should step up their efforts at mopping up the arms in wrong hands. Some arrests are being made in this regard in recent times; these should continue. But it is not enough to arrest the minions in whose care the arms are found, it is important for the government to interrogate how the arms got into the country in the first place, as well as those who brought them in, for possible prosecution.

    As we have always canvassed, the place of intelligence gathering cannot be ignored if the ugly trend is to be checked in Birnin-Gwari as well as other troubled parts of the country. It is failure of intelligence that will make bandits plan and successfully implement the nefarious plans without being proactively checkmated by any of the security outfits. Reacting to crises after lives and limbs have been lost is akin to shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted.

  • Rivers’ bloodbath

    •Government must get to the root of the killings and punish culprits

    Residents of Omoku, headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Governent Area of Rivers State who lost at least 15 of their own to a senseless cold blooded murder perpetrated by yet-to-be identified killers in the early hours of January 1 could only have responded coldly to any ‘happy new year’ greeting. Or, what is there to be happy about in a situation where loved ones were murdered prematurely on a day the whole world was celebrating? These were people who would have thanked God for sparing their lives to witness the new year at the cross-over service, only to be killed even before getting to their homes to continue the celebrations. The victims, including a man, his wife and five children had just finished the New Year service in a church when the gunmen opened fire on them at close range. About 52 other persons sustained injuries from gunshots.

    According to an eyewitness, “Since 2014, when the crisis started in Omoku and its environs, over 500, mostly innocent people, have been killed.” He urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the state governor, Nyesom Wike, “to take immediate action to secure the lives and property of residents of Omoku and its environs, especially with the forthcoming primaries of political parties and general elections.”

    “We do not deserve the killings in Omoku and its environs. We are not in a state of war. Don Waney’s ( a militant’s leader) boys have regrouped and are terrorising innocent citizens. Over 52 wounded victims of New Year Day attack in Omoku are now in various hospitals and clinics,” he added.

    It is disheartening that Rivers State, which had once known relative peace, has now degenerated into what could be likened to a war zone. The recrudescence of violence in the state shortly before the 2015 elections is regrettable. Perhaps more regrettable is the fact that the security agents have not been able to arrest the ugly trend. The incumbent Governor Wike, literally shot to power on the blood of innocent citizens who were killed during the governorship election characterised by bloodbath.

    Omoku is not a small town in the state. Being rich in crude oil and gas, it naturally plays host to many multinational oil firms and oil servicing companies, the Federal College of Education (FCE) Technical, as well as other establishments. In spite of the presence of these institutions, there are no functional banks in the town as most of the commercial banks there have been closed for months, due to insecurity.

    We know that as usual, politicians will want to trade blames over the unfortunate incident; perhaps start dancing on the graves of the slain. But the security agencies should not be carried away by cheap political propaganda. Rather, they should investigate the dastardly incident professionally and without fear or favour. This is one incident that the Federal Government must show sufficient interest in.

    The state government’s decision to place a N200million bounty for information that will lead to the arrest of the gunmen is welcome. People with useful information in this regard should not hesitate to avail the security agents looking into the incident with such, even as we appeal to the latter to keep the identities of such informants secret. It is when these secrets are jealously guarded that the source of such intelligence will not dry up.

    But we are equally worried that a town like Omoku is not covered by closed circuit television (CCTV) that would have aided the security agents in fishing out the killers. In many other parts of the world, video clips of what happened would have been released to the security agents for review and possible identification and arrest of the criminals. But it is not late to be thinking in this direction now, especially with the high level of criminality in the state. Rivers State is not a place where the infrastructure of peace should be allowed to break down for one minute.

  • Taraba bloodbath worse than Boko Haram massacre, says GOC

    It was a black week for the Fulani in Gembu, Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State.

    An estimated 200 Fulani – men, women and children – have been reportedly killed, and many others injured, as the Mambilla community turned against their Fulani neighbours, whose militants, incidentally, had been terrorising and killing innocent rural farmers in recent times.

    Governor Darius Ishaku said “a lie’ caused the violence.

    About 20,000 cows, according to Senator Yusuf Yusuf (Taraba central), were killed and over 5,000 homes burnt while property, estimated to cost millions of naira, were looted or destroyed.

    All these happened after four days of hostilities.

    Those who managed to escape, some with injuries, have been kept in a secluded place as IDPs to shield them from further attacks.

    Sources said there are no adequate medical facilities to treat them.

    The Nation gathered that many people were killed in Nguroje (where the crisis started), Sabbal Gudali, Toffi, Mayo Daga, Mayo Sina, Tamiya, Kwara-Kwara, Tungan Lugere and Timjire. 10 people were killed in a Mosque in Wuro Ardo Musa, during prayer.

    A headmaster, his wife and seven children were reportedly wiped out.

    Languishing in agony, the victims describe the violence as “a well-organised ethnic cleansing against the Fulani in Sardauna, supported by some top government officials.”

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo ordered the deployment of soldiers in the state to halt the violence. He ordered police reinforcement, deployment of extra military battalion and personnel of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the area after the crisis.

    Osinbajo commiserated with the affected communities and the state, and ordered the provision and delivery of relief materials to them. He also imposed a dusk to dawn curfew, with soldiers now patrolling the length and breadth of the area to maintain law and order.

    Security chiefs have temporarily relocated to the area to stop further killings.

    The General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 3 Division of the Army, Brig-Gen. Benjamin Ahanotu; Commandant of the 23 Brigade, Yola, Adamawa State Brig-Gen. Bello Mohammed; Commandant of the 20 Battalion in Serti, Lt.-Col. Abdullahi Anwar and the Commissioner of Police Yunana Babas, have temporarily relocated to the area.

    Governor Ishaku has set up three committees to end the skirmishes. The first, raised at the beginning of the crisis, is headed by Deputy Governor Haruna Manu.

    Another 14-member committee is headed by the Chief of Mambilla. It has five members each from Fulani and Mambilla, one representative each from Kaka, Kambu, Panso and Igbo, whom the governor said have lived there for many years and will tell the truth if the indigenes refuse to do so.

    The third is the “Truth and Reconciliatory Committee” made up of religious leaders (Christians and Muslims). The committees are to chart the need to forgive one another and forge ahead.

    “I spoke with the Acting President on the intelligence and the cause of the crisis was a lie,” he said.

     

    Journalists stopped from visiting horrifying scenes

    Scenes of the carnage are so horrifying soldiers stopped reporters from visiting them. Gen. Ahanotu accompanied reporters to the scene but after seeing the horrific devastation on a motorbike, he stopped them (reporters) from gong further. The trip ended in Bang.

    Ahanotu simply told the reporters their reports may alter his investigation.

    “I was shocked with what I saw. Even Boko Haram did not slaughter women and children, but here, I have seen young children and pregnant women slaughtered because of hatred,” he noted.

    In Gembu, he told the Chief of Mambilla Shehu Baju that “the Fulani were mercilessly slaughtered along with their cows.

    “They (Fulani) are fellow Nigerians and indigenes of this area; they should be treated with dignity.”

    At a security meeting in the Government House, Gen. Ahanotu told Ishaku he had never seen such a gruesome devastation since he started his military career.

    According to him, there was serious detestation among the people and they only waited for the opportunity to unleash terror on their neighbours.

    “Leaders are not supposed to lie but in Gembu, the leaders are lying because of hatred for their neighbours,” he said.

    Gen. Ahanotu advised the governor to apply for the extension of military personnel in the warring area to forestall a retaliation.

     

    Minister knocks governor, Speaker

    The Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, Aisha Alhassan, faulted Governor Ishaku and Speaker of the House of Assembly Abel Peter Diah, for the crisis.

    Alhassan, who addressed reporters in Jalingo, the state capital, accused the Ishaku administration of “fuelling the crisis by asking people to go and fight”.

    She said: “Ishaku has failed for failing to perform his primary duty of protecting lives and property. And it is unfortunate that people are calling for a state of emergency in Taraba.

    “When crisis broke out in Takum, the governor’s home, he did not say anything. Now, there is crisis in Sardauna, he is not saying anything. People have asked me about my stand on the crisis and I told them to ask the governor.”

    The minister urged Ishaku to learn from Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, who is holding peace and security meetings with regional leaders to douse tensions caused by the separatist agitators and coalition of northern youth groups.

    According to her, Ishaku has failed so woefully that she would support the lawmakers should they begin impeachment move against the governor.

    “Let them impeach him (Ishaku), let the deputy become governor and if he fails too, he shall be impeached too. What we want is the person who will perform.

    “If the House of Assembly makes moves to impeach him, I will support them. He should work like a governor; Ishaku should wake up and learn from other governors who are performing.”

     

    Governor condemns violence

    Governor Darius Ishaku held a peace and security meeting when he returned from Germany. The crisis erupted when he was abroad.

    Ishaku condemned the violence on the Mambilla Plateau, after listening to stakeholders and security agents and offered his condolences to the affected community.

    He noted that the problem with Nigeria is that “we got independence on a platter of gold, so we don’t know what freedom and peace is.”

    Ishaku said the crisis was caused because of a lie, describing the incident as “a sad development.”

    He ordered security agencies to do their best to restore normalcy.

     

    Speaker’s defence

    The Speaker, Abel Peter Diah, denied giving land to his kinsmen. He debunked allegations that he sponsored his Mambilla kinsmen to grab land belonging to any Fulani.

    “I did not give anybody any land in Nguroje.

    “As the Speaker and being a Mambilla, I am not surprised by the accusation,” Diah said.

    He, however, called for peace.

     

    Cause of the violence    

    Commissioner of Police Yunana Babas said the crisis was an aftermath of a court case between two Mambilla men – Umaru Musa Moh’d Jidda and Hussaini Sule and a Fulani, Abubakar Rini.

    The Magistrates’ Court found Jidda and Sule guilty and remanded them in prison.

    He spoke at the state command headquarters and at the security meeting in the Government House.

    His words: “Their kinsmen started making calls to the complainant, threatening to burn down their houses and kill them if they did not go to court to release their detained kinsmen.

    “They actualised their threat when the court did not release Jidda and Sule. They burnt down houses and inflicted injuries on their victims.”

    Babas added that the Mambilla gave ethnic colouration to the conflict “by conspiring and mobilising their kinsmen for the dastardly acts that were recorded”. According to him, 18 bodies were recovered.

    The police boss faulted security agents, including the vigilante, for not doing their job because of tribal sentiments.

    He said the situation in Gembu is so complex and criminals took advantage to loot and worsen the destruction.

    Babas’s account corroborates eye-witnesses’ version of the cause of the crisis.

    But the Fulani Elders’ Forum said he downplayed the figure of casualties, saying over 200 Fulani have been buried.

    The forum alleged that a local militia was contracted to kill the Fulani and destroy their property, on the orders of the local government Chairman John Yep.

    The forum, in a statement, said the crisis began on June 16, when the militia protested the arrest of Umaru CID, a ring leader of the group in Nguroje, by security operatives over a land dispute.

    “On getting information about the arrest of the militia leaders, Yep immediately led some Mambilla youths to storm Nguroje, alleging that the arrest was instigated by the Fulani. This led to a total siege on Nguroje and its environs.”

    “While the assault lasted, Yep ran round villages to mobilise his kinsmen. He sold a dummy to his tribesmen and painted a wrong and malicious picture that his Mambilla kinsmen were being attacked by Fulani.

    “He made a personal radio message through the Taraba State Broadcasting Service (TSBS) Gembu Booster Station, calling on his kinsmen to execute the genocide on the station’s transmissions of Saturday evening and Sunday morning.”

    Sources said Yep’s phones were seized by soldiers when they discovered he was speaking with the perpetrators.

    Representative of the Fulani community at the meeting, Saidu Bawa, accused the Diah and Yep of poking the fire of war.

    Representative of the Mambilla community, the Wakili Mambilla Alhaji Zubairu, said the crisis erupted as a result of the arrest of Umaru CIB, a mambilla, for his alleged involvement in crime.

    Representative of the Miyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Ahmadu Bello, accused the Speaker of sponsoring his men to grab lands belonging to Fulani.

    Former ambassador to Cameroun republic in his reaction, said the land in Gembu was owned by Mambilla people, being the first to settle on the Plateau.

    But of late, he said, Certificates of Occupancy were wrongly given to the Fulani when the government started sourcing revenue on their livestock.

    The representative of Tabita Fluka accused the government of negligence, adding that the state was informed ahead of time when tension began to brew but it did not bother to put a quick response.

    He added that it was wrong to have a Wikilin Mambilla in Nguroje settlement, when there was a substantive Galadima Nguroje.

    “Some Mambilla youths have constituted themselves into a lawless group, formed by the council chairman John Yep, who calls himself Mandella, who gloats he must collect all Fulani lands. You cannot arrest any member of the youth group.”

    According to the representative of the DSS, Shehu Saulawa, the crisis should be traced to the attitude of the political elites of the area. They don’t talk the truth.

    “They need to speak the truth for the problem to be addressed,” he said.

    He hinted that the problem in Gembu has been compounded by politicians such that at the moment you will not even arrest youth.

    He warned of a possible reprisal and urged the government to intervene urgently.

  • Bloodbath averted in Kaduna

    Bloodbath averted in Kaduna

    After a Gwari man was killed in a Kaduna suburb, it took the state government, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), and other stakeholders to prevent what would have been a bloody revenge, ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE reports

    The man’s corpse, later identified to be that of a Gwari, was found on a Sunday in a suburb of Kaduna metropolis. On the morning of the following day, two rival gangs had mobilised and were spoiling for war. They started hurling dangerous objects at each other, and at passerby. In a city used to violence, motorists could smell trouble and wisely made some safe detours.

    The state government also suspected that things could go terribly wrong if it did nothing. That was why it sent a high-powered delegation to liaise with the leaderships of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), security agencies, and traditional rulers of Kabala West and Ungwan Muazu communities where the groups were already sizing each other up.

    Some said the dead man was a rogue, others that he was an innocent victim of thugs at a football viewing centre.

    The development caused tension around the city. Many drivers had to divert to other routes from Nnamdi Azikiwe bypass, on the western side of the city.

    But for the prompt intervention of the state government, Kaduna city would have been thrown into a dangerous religious crisis. The news that went round on that fateful Monday morning was that Muslims and Christians had started fighting.

    The Nation gathered that Gwari kinsmen of the dead man stormed Kabala West on Monday morning to retaliate his killing.

    Meanwhile, the state government swiftly sent a high-powered delegation to mediate between the communities. The delegation was led by Acting Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim Sani, the Special Adviser on Internal Security and Special Assistant Media and Publicity Samuel Aruwan.

    It was gathered that the delegation met with the leaderships of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), youth leaders, security agencies and traditional rulers of the two communities.

    At the end of the meeting, the two sides unanimously agreed that all those responsible for the unrest should be fished out and brought to justice. The delegation also commended all residents of the communities that collaborated with security agencies in containing the unrest that could have degenerated beyond the two communities.

    The meeting resolved that all communities will be proactive in reporting any suspicious movements or activities to security agencies, and that it is illegal to resort to self-help or any act that amounts to taking the law into one’s hands.

    When our correspondent visited the area, days after the incident, policemen and security patrol vehicles were stationed there.

    Some of the residents gave different accounts of the event that led to the uproar. While one eyewitness said the deceased was attacked by some young men at the Naija Bet viewing centre in the area where he went to watch the premier league match between Arsenal FC and Man United around 5:30pm, another said the slain man escorted his girlfriend home and was attacked outside her house in the area.

    An eyewitness, Gambo Lawal who claimed to be at the football viewing centre when the incident occurred said, “The deceased came out of the centre holding two big phones when four young boys started harassing him. They collected one of his phones and continued harassing him. They later pinned him to the wall and collected his other handset. One of the boys pulled out a knife and the deceased picked up a stick. They stabbed him severally before they left the viewing centre with his two phones.”

    Another resident of the area, simply identified as Maman Abdul, said, “I learnt that some boys from Samarun Kataf who are resident in Kabala West had a fight over a girl. After the fight, a dead body of one of the boys was found in the Christian graveyard and they accused the Hausa people of perpetrating the act.

    “We saw two dead bodies being taken away and I learnt that one of them was a Hausa water vendor, I don’t know who the other person was because when the incident was taking place, everybody closed their shops and ran for safety.

    “It is unfortunate that people are linking the fracas to religion, but I want to tell you that it has nothing to do with religion at all. We are however happy that security people intervened immediately and the situation is returning to normalcy as I speak to you”.

    Security agencies have arrested 18 persons suspected to have been involved in the unrest that followed the lynching in Kabala West and Ungwan Muazu.

    A statement from the state government said that security agencies arrested the hoodlums around the two communities following reports of threats to law and order.

    Spokesperson to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Samuel Aruwan while confirming the arrests of the suspects, said they will be charged to court as soon as the investigations are concluded.

    Aruwan dismissed stories making the rounds on social media that the crisis has escalated to other parts of Kaduna town leading to the killing of a few persons and others injured and warned those peddling false stories to desist.

  • Monarch begs Ambode to prevent bloodbath at Lekki

    Monarch begs Ambode to prevent bloodbath at Lekki

    The traditional ruler of Lekki, Oba Al Azeem Olumuyiwa Ogunbekun, has urged Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to stop land grabbers in his domain to prevent bloodbath.

    At a press briefing yesterday, he alleged that suspected hoodlums, accompanied by uniformed men were harassing his subjects over land, adding: “We now live in fear.”

    He appealed to Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni to save the residents of Lekki town and Ebute-Lekki from harassment and oppression.

    Ogunbekun said: “In the last two years, my people have been subjected to harassment by land grabbers. They have been oppressed and maltreated.

    “Last Friday, thugs invaded a primary school in my domain. Pupils and teachers ran for safety. The hoodlums also damaged the fence of an Anglican church at Oshoriko. We sent a distress call to Akojo Police Station, but the officers could not contain the crisis.

    “The threat to life and property should be stopped. Inhabitants of Lekki town, Ebute-Lekki, Oshoriko, Igbekodo and neighbouring towns and villages have been pushed to the wall. They are planning to take the law into their hands. I don’t want this to happen. This is why I’m appealing to Governor Ambode and the Police Commissioner to intervene, to prevent a breakdown of law and order. I want bloodbath to be averted.”

  • Rivers Bloodbath: Wike ban Okada in 4 LGAs, orders security clampdown

    Rivers Bloodbath: Wike ban Okada in 4 LGAs, orders security clampdown

    Worried by recent spate of killings and cult-related violence in Rivers State, Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has ordered an indefinite 15-hour daily ban on the operation of commercial motorcyclists, popularly called ‘Okada’.

    The four local government areas include: Abua/Odual, Ahoada East, Ahoada West and Ogba/Egbema /Ndoni (ONELGA).

    Okada operators, by the order announced on Sunday morning by Simeon Nwakaudu, a media aide, “are prohibited from operating between 5pm and 8am daily in four local government areas of the state for security reasons.”

    It would be recalled that armed gangs have been on rampage in parts of the state, including Omoku, headquarters of Ogba-Ndoni-Egbema LGA (ONELGA) and hometown of PDP chairman in the state, Bro Felix Obuah.

    The ONELGA headquarters witnessed at least a dozen deaths during the weekend owing to the activities of the deadly cult gangs in the area.

    The statement stated, “Governor Wike has directed security agencies to enforce the ban.

    “The governor regrets any inconveniences the ban will cause residents, businesses and commercial motorcyclists in these local government areas.

    “He, however, called on all stakeholders in the mentioned local government areas to cooperate with the state government and security agencies to improve the security situation in their communities,” Nwakaudu added.

  • Ofumwengbe/Okponha bloodbath: The inside story

    Ofumwengbe/Okponha bloodbath: The inside story

    Osayuki Isaac Osifo, 26, will never forget August 4 in his lifetime.  Prior to that fateful Tuesday, if a prophet had told Osayuki to remain in his community as trouble lurked in a neighbouring community, he probably would have stayed back and avoided the sudden twist of fate.

    Again, if the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the area had taken seriously the intelligence report allegedly passed to him a day to the bloody incident by a member of Community Development Association (CDA) of one of the embattled communities, may be the crisis would have been averted.

    In the same vein, if the youths of the warring localities had yielded the advice of the Police and their elders, they would have not found themselves in the current mess they are trying to get out from.

    It was exclusively scooped that in response to the tip-off received by the DPO , he in company of some policemen visited the troubled site.

    Having felt the security barometer of the environment, the DPO was said to have moved his men away with a request that leaders of aggrieved community should come and give formal complain to his office at Iguobazuwa town the administrative headquarters of Ovia South-west local government area.

    Our crime reporter gathered further that hardly had the DPO left the building site at Okponha community when armed thugs converted the site to a battle field.

    Commenting on the lawlessness that reigned supreme throughout the broad day encounter, the police spokesman in Edo State DSP Stephen Onwochei stated that “It was a free for all fight, single barrels, double barrels were fully deployed, shooting at each other, before we moved in seven persons have already sustained injuries”.

    Osayuki Isaac Osifo, a year-two dropout student of computer-accounting, College of Education, Ekiadolor, is one of the said seven persons who sustained injuries.

    He was shot on his right arm which was amputated to save his life.

    The fatherless Osayuki now in agony at a private hospital in Benin City narrates to our crime reporter what transpired that memorable day of his life.

    “About 8am or 9am on Tuesday, I went to check my site and I met my chairman at Okada junction in Ofumwengbe town driving towards my site, when I got there I saw some people of Ofunmwengbe town exchanging hot words at a particular site.

    “They were faces I recognise…., with eight together in one place so I told myself why can’t I talk to them to forget fight and let’s settle this thing amicably.

    “In the process, before I knew it, somebody came out saying who is this man? Get him! Fire am down!! Before I knew it, from nowhere, a gunshot just passed through my hand. I looked at my hand; it was already like  pieces . I fell down and from there I did not know what was happening.”

    Osayuki continued: “The other one said that anybody who wanted to obstruct our work should be shot. May be they were seeing me as one of those who wanted to obstruct their work.

    “But all I was there for was to maintain peace since the police have already asked us to go to the Palace.”

    The youth Chairman of Ofunmwengbe community, Edosa Ogiamen, stated that the attack on his friend by the youths of Okponha village triggered the communal crisis alleged to have left seven persons with bullet wounds.

    He stated that his community and Okponha have a boundary dispute and both sides were advised by the police and traditional authorities to steer clear from the area pending when it would be resolved.

    Edosa Ogiamen further stated that Okponha community jettisoned the advice and sold part of the land in other to raise money to fight their rival neighbouring community, Ofumwengbe.

    He alleged that his kinsman, Osayuki Isaac Osifo, had gone to the area that fateful day oblivious of the fact that Okponha youths and some heavily armed hired thugs deployed from outside the community had laid siege to the disputed area.

    He averred that some youths of Ofunmwengbe swiftly to rescued their kindred who was severely wounded.

    The youth Chairman of Okponha town, Wilson Osaze,  also alleged that some youths of Ofunmwengbe community, a.k.a Okada junction/new road, armed with guns and dangerous weapons attacked them at a building site during foundation laying in Okponha community.

    However, a popular Benin chief from the area is said to have been fuelling the crisis.

    The chief, it was alleged, had been harassing youths and elders of Ofunmwengbe community since the fracas erupted.

    He was also said to have capitalised in on the crisis and ordered his workers to enter the forest in the area to explore mineral resources.

    The Public Relations Officer for Edo Police Command, DSP Onwochei, stated that Ofunmwengbe and Okponha communities had been embroiled in a boundary dispute.

    He explained that the police command had severally advised that they should channel their grievances to the appropriate government agency.

    “They were warned seriously against taking laws into their hands, but last Tuesday, somebody from Okponha community was laying foundation within the area said to be disputed.

    “The village head of Ofunmwengbe and one of their youth leaders are with us and as we speak, they are giving us useful information as to who and who went there to be shooting.”

    He further explained that “our intervention in the matter doesn’t address the issue of boundary dispute but to maintain law and order”.

    The police spokesman stated that arms and ammunition suspected to have been used for the attack had been recovered.

    He promised that the police would not treat the issue with kid gloves as operatives are already on the trail of those involved in the invasion.

    Ofunmwengbe/Okponha Communal fracas is among similar disturbances that have been witnessed and unresolved across Edo State every year.

    On Saturday, November 22, residents of Aruogba community in Oredo Local Government Area saw hell in the hands of armed hoodlums who turned the locality into a theatre of war for several hours over the CDA leadership tussle.

    No fewer than five residential buildings and six exotic cars were set ablaze as windshield of over seven vehicles smashed during the well- coordinated attack.

    The panic and confusion that followed the violence caused many parents and children to run helter-skelter.

    At last, one person died in the attack and shortly after, more killings have been recorded as the aggrieved parties continue to hunt themselves.

    Amongst the victims was the acclaimed elected CDA chairman, Mr. Okoro Ogbaretin, who was ambushed and gunned down.

    Ever since the crisis, community life has never be same again as many residents who fled their ancestral homes are yet to return.

    The commissioner of Police in the state then, Mr. Foluso Adebanjo, confirmed the arrest of nine suspects at the wake of the fracas.

    He further explained that a gun and live ammunition were also recovered.

    Will communal disturbances ever ceased in Edo State?

    The Adams Oshiomhole administration years ago constituted the State Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee led by Chief Eduwu Eghator.

    Still, communal crises appear to have defied permanent solution as affected communities record collateral damages from time to time.

     

  • Bloodbath in Benue

    • Has the federal government abandoned farmer-cattle Fulani crisis

    In the unending wars between the Fulani herdsmen in the North and farmers, another bloodbath was witnessed in Benue State on March 15, when about 70 suspected Fulani herdsmen reportedly slaughtered 95 people, most of them women and children, in Egba Aguta Local Government Area of the state. A survivor, simply identified as Oche, said that the herdsmen stormed the village between 5am and 6am and started attacking people.

    They came with arrows, locally made guns and knives to attack the people, most of whom were still sleeping. The herdsmen then escaped to Nasarawa State. Oche, who could not give the number of those wounded in the attack, said he “believed that those wounded are between 95 and 100 as I counted up to 80 bodies being taken away by people in uniform. Most of those slaughtered were women, children and the aged. Almost all the houses in the community were razed by the attackers”.

    Although the state police commissioner, Hyacinth Dagala, who confirmed the attack had directed the area commander to ensure that adequate security is provided to the area, we see this directive as belated. Deadly attacks by Fulani herdsmen in Benue State have become a recurring decimal. On February 11, about 30 people were feared killed, apart from those who sustained varying degrees of injuries, in the Logo LGA of the same state when some Fulani herdsmen allegedly attacked and sacked over 24 communities and villages in the area, some of which are said to be only four kilometres away from Anyin, the country home of Governor Gabriel Suswam.

    For the umpteenth time, we state that security matters should be taken seriously all over the country, especially in volatile areas in the Northeast and North central parts of the country. Lack of effective security in these areas has largely been responsible for the havoc wreaked by Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast and parts of North central, and the abduction of over 270 school children in Chibok. It is therefore no surprise that the Fulani herdsmen have always succeeded in killing people in the area with considerable ease and with impunity.

    Our security personnel must curb what has become a blood-thirstiness of the Fulani herdsmen by taking proactive actions  to preempt attacks rather than reacting after the fact. We also understand that the Fulani are sometimes provoked by the people who rustle and steal their cattle.

    We opine that this carnage has gone on for too long for the government to take some decisive action to find solution. We think it is only an irresponsible government that would look on helplessly while her citizens are slaughtered in such large numbers at every turn.

    Apart from beefing up security and intelligence gathering, the federal government working in conjunction with the affected state governments, must speedily bring fresh ideas to bear on cattle rearing in the country.  Normadic cattle rearing is not peculiar to Nigeria; we must borrow a leave from other countries on how they solved similar problems.

    Sending relief materials to the survivors in affected areas of attack is medicine after death. The police and the military should wake up to their tasks of securing these areas, and prevent further attacks on innocent people in the future by gathering intelligence on the activities of the Fulani herdsmen to curb their penchant for frequent killings of innocent people. We say enough is enough!

  • Bloodbath averted as police, soldiers clash in Anambra

    Bloodbath was averted yesterday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, following a fight between policemen and soldiers.

    A source said trouble began at the Aroma junction where the policemen posted to the roundabout to control traffic, stopped motorcyclists and demanded N1,000 each from those who did not wear helmet.

    The source said a soldier, riding a motorcycle, later got to the point.

    Said he: “They told him to park. When he was about doing that, one policeman hit him, thinking he wanted to run.

    “The young military officer (name withheld) parked the motorcycle and told them he is a soldier (although he was not wearing uniform).