Benue State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, on Monday confirmed that five farmers have been killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in the state.
Briefing journalists at the state police command headquarters in Makurdi, Owoseni said the killings took place in Agatu, Guma and Makurdi local government areas of the state.
He said the herdsmen killed three persons in Olegobiudu, Agatu LGA, on Sunday night.
Thousands were also rendered homeless by the attackers.
Suspected Fulani herdsmen have killed two brothers – Aondowase Uma and Ahanbee Uma – in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
An eyewitness, Peter Igbor, said the brothers were ambushed as they returned from Yelewata Market, about 8 pm.
The herdsmen burnt their motorcycle.
A survivor, Orihyev Nyaga, who was shot in his left hand, said he was returning from the market on a motorcycle when he ran into a road block mounted by the herdsmen.
They attempted to cut him but he escaped; he was then shot in the hand. He abandoned his bike and ran into the bush, from where he went back to the market and raised the alarm.
Reports from locals said the bodies were recovered by youths and handed over to the police, who deposited them at an undisclosed morgue.
The locals said but for Nyaga’s alarm, the casualties could have been more.
Police spokesman Moses Yamu confirmed the incident, saying he would soon issue a statement to that effect.
Suspected Fulani herdsmen on Tuesday killed two brothers – Aondowase Uma and Ahanbee Uma – in Guma local government area of Benue State.
An eyewitness, Peter Igbor, said the deceased were ambushed and killed by the herdsmen while returning from a local market in the area.
“They were returning from Yelewata Market on a motorbike at about 8:00 p.m. when they were ambushed and killed and their motorcycle burnt by the Fulani herdsmen,” Igbor said.
A survivor, Orihyev Nyaga, who was shot on the left hand, said he was returning from the market on a motorcycle when he ran into a road block mounted by the herdsmen.
He said they tried to attack him with a machete but narrowly escaped before he ran to the bush.
Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen killed five persons in Dantako and Nzharuvo communities in Miango District of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau.
ASP Terna Tyopev, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Jos.
According to him, the incident that occurred on Thursday night left scores severely injured and many properties destroyed.
“Yesterday, gunmen suspected to be herdsmen attacked and killed four Irigwe persons at Dantanko and a Fulaniman at Nzharuvo communities in Miango district of Bassa local government.
“The deceased persons are identified as Emmanuel Joseph, Christopher Joseph, Peace Joseph, Henry Audu and Samuel Isah.
“The corpse of Samuel Isah has since been buried, but that of the remaining four are deposited at the Jos University Teaching Hospital’s (JUTH) mortuary,” he said.
The PPRO explained that those injured, including a four-year old child were receiving treatment at Enos hospital, Miango.
He said investigations were ongoing to unravel those behind the dastardly act. (NAN)
Fulani herdsmen have attacked a woman and her daughter at Ofumwengbe village in Ovia South West local government area for daring to report them to the police.
The woman, Mrs. Patricia Toweh aged 52 and her daughter, Hannah, aged 18 were inflicted injuries with machete.
Hannah had a deep cut in her forehead and right hand while her mother had her left ear severed and a deep cut of her forehead.
Narrating her ordeal to newsmen, Mrs. Patricia said they were attacked because she reported the herdsmen to the police after they destroyed her two hectares of cassava farm.
Patricia said the herdsmen pointed a gun point at her threatening to shoot her dead but she grabbed the gun and they used machete on her.
She stated that her daughter who rushed to rescue her was also attacked.
The victim recalled that in January this year, she complained to the leader of the Fulani herdsmen in Ofunwengbe community Alhaji Jubrin that her farm has been destroyed by herdsmen.
This, she said, led to the arrest of some of the herdsmen at the Police Divisional station in Okada town but one of the suspects, Alhaji Yellow, was later released.
According to her, “The policemen at the divisional station had visited the farm to witness the destruction and later conducted an identification parade of three elderly men which yielded no result.”
State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Babatunde Kokumo who confirmed the incident said that the command has commenced investigation into the matter.
He assured that justice would be done quickly in the case.
“The woman was brought before me today. We are looking into a way to ensure justice is done speedily.”
Suspected Fulani herdsmen on Monday killed two officers of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC ) in Awanger village, Guma local government area of Benue State.
According to a facebook post, the victims are Ada Patrick and Adam Godwin.
The victims were reportedly ambushed and shot dead at 2:25 p.m. on Monday.
Attempts to speak with the Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the Benue State Command of NSCDC failed as he refused to pick his calls.
Text messages sent to his phone were also not returned.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Abuja explained that the policy proposed by Federal Government in response to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country is not meant to colonize any part of the country.
He made the remark while receiving Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) led by Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama.
According to him, the intention of government is to create grazing locations for cattle rearers, which has now been misconstrued as another form of colonization.
Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, regretted that the well-thought out policy of the Federal Government, which was conceived after wide consultations with stakeholders, had been largely misunderstood by a section of the public.
He, however, assured the Catholic Bishops that the Federal Government will continue to explore all opportunities and support initiatives to ensure peace and stability in restive areas.
Condemning recent spate of killings in Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, and Zamfara states, the President said security operatives would ensure prosecution of perpetrators and all those found with illegal arms in the affected areas.
He said ‘‘the impression created that I was sitting in an air-conditioned office and home, enjoying myself while these things happened, is dishonest.
‘‘At every step, I have tried to foresee these problems because I have the experience as a former military officer who commanded three out of the four divisions of the Nigerian army, in Lagos, Ibadan and Jos.
‘‘I am quite aware of the problems we have and I am doing my best to get law enforcement agencies to be on alert,’’ he said.
The President told the Catholic Bishops that he would not be tired of recounting remarkable progress recorded in the areas of security, economy and the fight against corruption.
‘‘We have done very well on security in the North East, when you compare what the condition was before we came in and what it is now.
‘‘On the economy, particularly agriculture, I am very pleased that God answered the prayers of Nigerians who prayed for bountiful harvest.
‘‘People have taken advantage of Federal Government policies and programmes to return to the farm and they have not regretted,’’ he said.
On the fight against corruption, the President reiterated that government would be guided by the law in the investigation and prosecution of all graft-related cases.
He said ‘‘People are being prosecuted systematically with evidence.
‘‘If a permanent secretary has five houses in Abuja, two in Kaduna and one in Borno and Sokoto and he can’t account for the properties and there are bank transactions linking him to the properties, the prosecuting agencies will not have difficulties to make progress on the case.”
On the question of Federal character, the President declared that no ethnic group or political zone has been deliberately marginalised in the appointments made so far.
He, however, added that he would take a second look at areas on which issues have been raised, when a compendium of all government appointments is submitted to him.
In his remarks, Archbishop Kaigama pledged that the Catholic Church in Nigeria would continue to support the Buhari administration and make its contribution to nation-building through prayers, admonitions and assistance to needy Nigerians.
‘‘As the voice of the people, we shall continue to highlight the plight of our people and play our prophetic role of sensitising the government, thus promoting good governance, national unity and cohesion,’’ Kaigama said.
Suspected Fulani herdsmen have killed the Officer-in-charge of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in Saki, Oyo State.
The officer, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), whose name was not disclosed by the Command, was said to have been macheted to death by the suspected Fulani herdsmen during an operation in a forest around Saki-Ogboro Road in Oke Ogun.
The incident is coming barely two weeks after the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Odude, and other top officers held a stakeholders meeting to address crises between farmers and herdsmen.
The meeting, held at the Eleyele Headquarters of the Command in Ibadan.
According to a source, who pleaded anonymity, a combined team of police officers and SARS operatives arrested some suspected Fulani herdsmen on the ground of disturbing public peace a day earlier, but the men were ambushed by another gang of herdsmen during another attempt to arrest two other suspects.
The development has led to fear in Saki and its environs.
Police spokesman Adekunle Ajisebutu, who confirmed the incident said four suspects had been arrested in connection with the death of the officer.
Senators yesterday rejected the report of the committee on Police Affairs and National Security and Intelligence which linked the killings in Benue State to Fulani herdsmen and militia men.
The upper chamber said that the report is incomplete because it quoted the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, copiously while it did not feature the position of Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom.
The lawmakers agreed with Senate President Bukola Saraki that the committee should go back and complete its assignment and report back within one week.
The Senate at its sitting on 31st January, 2018 considered a “personal explanation” by Senator Joshua Lidani, who drew the attention of the Senate to its resolution on the Ad-hoc Committee on Security’s visit to Benue State which stated “that the Senate do urge the Inspector General of Police to within Fourteen (14) days apprehend and investigate the perpetrators of this act; and the Benue State Attorney General to prosecute the offender(s); and resolved to mandate its Committees on Police Affairs; and National Security and Intelligence to summon the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on 1st February, 2018 and report to the Senate on 6th February, 2018.
The 23-member committee was chaired by Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Abu Ibrahim.
Ibrahim noted in his report that the Inspector General of Police appeared before the committee on Friday, 2nd February, 2018 and in his written presentation, IGP briefed the committee as follows:
—v) That between the 31st day of December, 2017 and the 31St day of January, 2018 over Twenty-One (21) attacks have been recorded in Benue State, noting that while Eleven (11) were believed to have been carried out by groups suspected to be Fulani Herdsmen, Ten (10) were believed to be carried out by suspected Tiv Militia groups.
viii) That while the Police is doing all that it could to restore normalcy in the State, it is important for the State Government and relevant Stakeholders to engage in continuous dialogue for peaceful coexistence.
In its observation and findings the committee said:
That there is a wide gap and serious defect in the intelligence gathering mechanism of the Nigeria Police and its subsequent counter operations due to inadequate funding.
That Local Government councils have been rendered ineffective, thereby unable to deal with security issues before they snowball to crisis.
That inflammatory statements, utterances and actions of some politicians and opinion molders have been found to be promoting hatred and inciting violence.
That there is massive proliferation of arms and ammunition in Benue State and across the country in general.
It recommended that 1) The Nigeria Police Force should strengthen and fully utilise its intelligence gathering capabilities
2) The Police is grossly underfunded; therefore it is recommended that a percentage of excess crude oil fund of about 2 dollars should be made available through appropriation to the Police in order to beef up its operations.
3) Politicians and opinion leaders should desist from statements capable of inciting violence.
4) Deliberate steps should be taken to disarm all armed militia groups in Benue State and in the country in general.
5) The Inspector-General of Police should speedily prosecute those arrested and intensify efforts to arrest those still at large.
Deputy Senate President Senator Ike Ekweremadu was the first to fault the report when he said that the committee should have invited the governor who was mentioned severally by the Inspector General of Police for his comment.
Ekweremadu said: “ Let me start by commending Sen. Abu Ibrahim for this report and the effort to bring it back on time. I just have one single observation. I noted that in the statement made by the IGP , he copiously mentioned the governor of Benue in most of the paragraphs but I didn’t see where the committee made an effort to speak with the governor. Because if in the circumstance, they did not interview the governor, and his name has been mentioned in respect to certain statements and actions, it would only be fair to him, to be invited by the committee and hear his own side of the story so that we have a balanced view of what transpired.”
Senator George Akume (Benue North West) also faulted the report and descended heavily on the Inspector General of Police for “misleading Nigerians on what happened in Benue State”.
Akume said: “I have gone through this summary. What I want to say is that this report would have been more rounded if the governor who has been so massively accused by the IGP, was also invited to make input into it. The committee would have had opportunity to interact with him. I am informed that the mandate of the committee was restricted to the office and person of the IGP. And the IGP said he moved immediately to Benue State.
“He didn’t move to Benue State on his own. Following out cries from the Senate, the President directed him to relocate to Benue State for one week. He went to the state and stayed there for one day. He spent two days in Nasarawa and he left. His comment has always been very jaundiced. They are not based on professional soundness and they do not show any detachment and impartiality. As far as this issue is concerned, I want to draw your attention to page 3 subsections 4 that based on claims by the Benue State alleging that there exist armed militia camps in Tunga in Awe Local Government of Nasarawa state, waiting to unleash mayhem on Benue people. He further visited Nasarawa State, fact-finding and engagement with stakeholders there.
“Those claims are untrue. What he is saying is not true. Every security agency has made comments on this. Huge numbers are there, and many of them are from outside the country and they are armed with assorted weaponry system. It is unfair to this country for IG to make this comment on what the governor said, which is untrue. What he is saying is untrue. What the governor said is true and it is from there that they moved and we have seen video clips of them moving to Benue and very well armed.
“He said in Benue State, that there are livestock guards and this has been the issue that have been repeatedly made by media but we have thousands who are moving with AK-47 freely and they have not been arrested. As we speak, people are being killed in Benue, Nasarawa, Zamara and Taraba states. It is not that we a talking anything out of the ordinary. We are simply saying that there are armed people who are going round killing our people. For me, it has nothing to do with religion. It has everything to do with mischief and economic deterministic. The IG has not been fair to the Nigerian people whom he has sworn on oath to serve.”
The submission of the Inspector General of Police to the committee obtained by our reporter said: “On the strength of the various claims at the stakeholders’ meeting, I (IGP) visited Nasarawa State for facts finding/stakeholders engagement.
“However, the meeting at Nasarawa was a complete opposite of what happened at Makurdi. Stakeholders from Nasarawa in a revised narrative of the incident in Benue State attributed the clashes to the untimely, unnecessary, unfriendly Anti-Grazing Law enacted by the Benue State Government.
“The stakeholders in Nasarawa State submitted that since the law was a prohibition of open grazing and establishment of ranches, the implementation of the law to ban open grazing in isolation of recommended provision of ranches as proposed by the law itself, was simply provocative and insensitive, as such a catalyst for conflict.”
The IGP told the committee that Nasarawa stakeholders also debunked the allegation of existence of militia group in any part of Tunga community and cited the Anti-Grazing Law of the Benue State Government as the remote and immediate cause of the conflict.
The Inspector General of Police added: “In view of the foregoing, there is indeed no doubt that the implementation of the Anti-Open Grazing Law by the Benue State Government as expressed by stakeholders in Nasarawa State and Ayim in Benue State, is the root cause of the crisis.
“This is exacerbated by the recruitment and arming of untrained Civilian JTF/ Livestock Guards with prohibited firearms whose composition is lopsided and comprising majorly persons of Tiv ethnic nationality.
“Also worthy of mention, is the public display of corpses, coupled with unguarded and inciting speeches by the Benue State Governor before and during the mass burial of the victims of the crisis.
“These utterances renewed tension leading to youths of Tiv ethnic group unleashing violent attacks on the residents of Wadata, Wurukum, Northbank and Angwan Jukun areas of Makurdi on Saturday 13th January, 2018.”
The police boss said: “The establishment of a vigilante group of youths composing of only Tiv ethnic tribe at this critical occasion is a recipe for crisis. In addition, arming them with prohibited firearms (AK-47) has aggravated intra tribal and inter communal clashes especially the Shittile Militias of Katsina-Ala and Livestock Guards of Ukum LGAs of the state which resulted to loss of lives and destruction of hundreds of houses and properties.”
Idris told the committee that from the beginning of the crisis on 30th December to date, 145 suspects had been arrested; 124 charged to court and 21 are under investigation.
Among others, the police boss suggested that Benue State Government should revisit the Anti-Open Grazing and Establishment of Ranches Law with the aim of first providing ranches and gradual implementation. There should be re-establishment of cattle routes that used to exist; and disbandment and disarming of the Livestock Guards, Shittile Tiv Militias and any other militias groups in order to forestall prohibited firearms in hands of unauthorized individuals.
Suspected Fulani herdsmen have killed the Officer-in-charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Saki area of the Oyo State Police Command.
The Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), whose name could not be established last night, was said to have been macheted to death by the suspected Fulani herdsmen during an operation in a forest around Saki-Ogboro Road in the Oke Ogun area of the state.
The incident is coming barely two weeks after Police Commissioner Abiodun Odude and other top officers of the command held a stakeholders’ meeting to address the crisis between farmers and herdsmen.
The meeting was held at the Eleyele, Ibadan headquarters of the police command.
A senior police officer, who spoke in confidence, said a combined team of police officers and men of the SARS had arrested some suspected Fulani herdsmen for allegedly disturbing public peace a day earlier.
The security agents were reportedly ambushed by another gang of herdsmen during another attempt to arrest two other suspects involved in the disturbance.
The source added that the development led to palpable fear in Saki and its environs.
Police spokesman Adekunle Ajisebutu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said four suspects had been arrested in connection with the killing.
He added that the command had begun investigation into the incident.
The spokesman urged the residents to remain law-abiding and calm.