The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Herdsmen attacks

  • Herdsmen attacks: security personnel deployed in Anambra community

    Security operatives have been deployed in Mmiata, Anambra West Local Government Area, following Saturday’s alleged herdsmen’s attack.

    Police spokesperson Haruna Mohammed said the security agencies comprised the Army, police and local vigilance members. Two units of mobile policemen and other regular officers were also deployed.

    Mohammed, however, said three persons were killed in the attack as against the six earlier reported.

    He said: “The Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Dandaura, has ordered an investigation of the incident to bring the perpetrators to justice. We are working with other security agencies in the operation.

    “Three persons were killed in the attack. We are on top of the situation and I can assure you that normalcy has returned to the place.”

    Mohammed was however silent over any arrest, but promised that the outcome of the investigation would be made public at the appropriate time.

    “I wouldn’t want to speak on issues that would jeopardise investigations,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Governor Willie Obiano, who is currently on a trip abroad, may likely cut short his trip following the attack, the Commissioner for Information and enlightenment, Mr. C-Don Adinuba said.

    Read also: Herdsmen killing: security beefed up in Anambra community

    He said: “A report of the incident has been sent to the governor who may return to the country earlier than his scheduled date of return in view of the seriousness of the attack.”

    Adinuba urged the people to remain calm, promising that the government would do everything possible to end the frequent attacks .

    A resident, Mr Orjiako Nnaluo (Ideh Anam), told reporters that the suspected herdsmen entered the farm settlement about 5:40am, killing people, burning houses and raping women.

    He said: “Before we knew what was happening, six people were already dead, while about 30 were injured.”

    The injured are receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital, he added.

  • ‘Enough of herdsmen attacks’

    Residents of Mmiata-Anam in Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State have raised the alarm over impending scarcity of food following incessant herdsmen attacks on the community.

    The community had earlier been devastated by flood.

    The people alleged that apart from destroying farm produce, the cattle herders also rape women, maim and kill locals in the area.

    They called on the state government to come to their rescue in order to avert the impending hunger and starvation in the community.

    A community leader, Chief Matthias Ameke said the ugly experience had been on for years, expressing fears of further loss of lives and property if the trend was not checked.

    He said the latest casualty was one Alex Nwokoye, who was butchered to death while waiting for a vehicle to convey him and his fishing gear.

    He said, “We used to hear of herdsmen terrorising some parts of this country until when they surfaced on our land and destroyed food products, including yams, cassava, flora and fauna which they trample upon.

    “As we speak now, our farms are at the verge of extermination as virtually everything has been removed. The worst of all is that last year flood ravaged our yams, cassavas, everything wasted. These people you see borrowed from banks this year to go back to farm with the seedlings purchased, land tilled, plantations done.

    “These herdsmen have come and invaded every bit of the length and breadth and removed everything to the point that cassava plants were being uprooted.

    “As if that was not enough, they went about raping women in their shanties. We’ve said it before and will continue to say that we are not violent people; this is one Nigeria. We need peace.

    “But we say that those who are here must obey the rule of the land. We have sacred places they have soiled. Our men have been chased away and finally they have gone as far as beginning to kill our people.

    Ameke continued, “Just last Friday, a man was killed with a machete in a heinous way, leaving behind nine little children. With this, our men said there is a limit to which you can run away from war particularly when it has come to your town.

    “This is our hometown. We have no other place and we are going nowhere. We shall stand here if it means fighting and dying here. But we don’t want to fight.”

    Meanwhile, some group of women in their hundreds barricaded the entry points to the community to prevent what they termed unlawful encroachment.

    One of them, Mrs Uduaku Felicia who spoke to The Nation, said the problem started last January when they noticed the produce in their farmlands was being destroyed by the herdsmen.

    “We’ve been patient with them because we don’t want any case. We give them chance to eat grass but they don’t want to. Instead, they want to be eating cassava, yam, all those things and continue killing others. So we are so very unhappy,” she said

    According to Uduaku, the decision to barricade the entrance to the community was to disallow non-indigenes without check.

    “We saw soldiers who came to our town on Friday. We don’t want war, we want peace. That is why we are here.

    “Anybody who wants to come into Mmiata Anam we would see the person from this point. We don’t want soldiers.”

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mohammed Haruna promised to get back to the reporter, but was unable till the time of filing this report.

    “I will find out and feed you back please,” he said.

  • Herdsmen attacks: 483,699 IDPs in camps

    The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said there are 483,699 Internally Displaced Persons ( IDPs) in various camps across Benue State.

    According to SEMA, the presence of  IDPs in various camps is as a result of herdsmen attacks on Benue communities, who are predominantly farmers.

    The Executive Secretary Hon. Emmanuel Shior said the number of IDPs has overwhelmed Benue State Government resulting to a huge humanitarian crisis.

    Reading a communique to newsmen after a two day symposium organised by SEMA in collaboration with Yavnielle Konsult tilled:  ‘Displaced ,traumatized  and neglected: A humanitarian crisis in Benue State, the Communique described as false and malicious attempt in some quarters to link herdsmen attacks and invasion of armed groups on Benue communities to the fall of Ghaddafi in Libya and the enactment of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017 in Benue State.

    Read also: Row over death of two residents during customs, smugglers clash

    The communique further called on Civil Society Organization and the media to take more interest in the plight of the Internally Displaced Persons ( IDPs) who are facing untold hardship with a view of attracting relief for them.

    The Executive Secretary on his part told The Nation in an interview that the Federal Government through it’s relief agencies like NEMA  has neglected Benue IDPs who are facing hardship in various camps.

    He said out of the hundreds of IDPs, 138,212 are between the ages of 1- 9, and they face a bleak future as most of their parents have been killed by armed herdsmen.

  • Herdsmen attacks: Ortom ‘threatened Buhari before soldiers were deployed’

    Benue State Deputy Governor Benson Abouno has given an account of the government’s fight against herdsmen attacks in the state.

    Abounu said Governor Samuel Ortom became so frustrated that he told President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in Benue.

    The deputy governor spoke at a symposium organised by Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), in collaboration with Yavnielle Conzult, with the theme: “Displaced, Traumatised and Neglected”.

    Abouno, who represented Ortom, dismissed insinuations the governor did nothing to stop the killings, saying the governor was on the President’s neck since the killings started in Agatu, Benue South, in 2016.

    He said: “I know that Governor Ortom met with Mr. President three times over the killings. It was not until the last time when he threatened to declare a state of emergency that Mr. President directed the chief of Army staff (COAS) to deploy soldiers from the 72 special Battalion forces.

    “In 2016, 98 persons were killed; two-year-olds were sliced and expectant mothers slaughtered, their stomachs turned open. I wonder if those killers were humans.

    “Six councils in Agatu were taken over by herdsmen, who burnt houses and destroyed property worth billions of naira. People became homeless; it was a double tragedy.

    Read also: Catholic priests anoint Jime for Benue governor

    “From Agatu, the killer herdsmen moved to Guma, Logo, Ukum, Katsina Ala, Otukpo, Apa, Kwande, Gwer, Gwer West, Okpokwu and Makurdi, which is the seat of power.”

    Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) Emmanuel Shior said there were 549,099 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps, and of this, 121,617 were children between one and nine months.

    Shior lamented that the Federal Government had failed in its promise to build shelter for the IDPs, saying Ortom was the one providing food, education and the health needs of IDPs, as the Federal Government had neglected Benue IDPs.

    He lauded the United Nations agency for its efforts towards the IDPs.

    The two-day symposium seeks to draw attention of the world to the plight of IDPs.

  • ‘Herdsmen attacks’: Kogi communities seek help

    Residents of Umomi/Ikpokejo in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State have urged the authorities to save them from alleged invasion of their communities by suspected herdsmen.

    They appealed to the state government and security agencies to intervene in what they called the looming breakdown of law and order, following alleged invasion and destruction of farmlands by suspected herdsmen in the areas.

    The appeal was contained in statement by their community leader, Agabi Agboni, and made available to reporters yesterday in Lokoja, the state capital.

    Agboni alleged that the invaders were aided by some collaborators, who he said encouraged the herders to enter farmlands, attack women and children during this year’s harvest season.

    The community leader noted that the suspected herdsmen attack, three years ago, led to the death of seven persons, including three graduates.

    He said it took the intervention of the Attah Igala for the carnage to be brought under control.

    The statement reads: “We are using this medium to call on the state government to immediately set up a mutually acceptable mechanism to forestall the escalation of these increasing threats to the lives and property of our community members by these herdsmen.

    “As law-abiding citizens of the state, we would not take the laws into our hands, hence this ‘Safe Our Soul’ to the state government. But we would surely defend our property and protect the pride and dignity of our women folks from the unconscionable attempt of raping our women on the farm by these remorseless herders in our communities.”

     

  • Herdsmen attacks: Benue youths exonerate Buhari from sponsoring killers, hail Buratai

    The Benue Youths Forum, the umbrella body of all youth groups in Benue State have exonerated President Muhammadu Buhari from the incessant killings in the state.

    According to them, the claim in some quarters that President Buhari was sponsoring the attacks in the state is a case of giving the dog a bad name to hang it.

    The youth group also pledged their total support for the ongoing military operation in the state aimed at ending the fast growing spate of terrorism in the Benue valley.

    It also commended the efforts of the military in curtailing the growing spate of local armed conflicts and acknowledged the achievements so far recorded by the Nigerian Army.

    In a statement read by the National President, Comr. Terrence Kuanum, the youth particularly lauded the Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai led Nigerian Army in the manner they have carried out their operation so far which has yielded positive results.

    It further encouraged the Nigerian Army to intensify efforts to flush out all criminal elements operating within and from outside the State.

    He said, “We totally support the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu
    Buhari’s fight against terrorism and applaud it’s accompanying achievements as so -ecorded in the major arrest at the Benue border.”

    They specifically noted that the recent arrest of the confessed killer of Governor Ortom’s aide which has been an issue of worrying to the state and the breaking of prominent robbery and kidnap rings in the region were worthy of commendation.

    “We will always support their noble efforts to reinstate peace in the nation and Benue in particular. It is our earnest belief that this recent military campaign will bring lasting peace to the Benue valley”.

  • Benue lost property worth N400bn to herdsmen attacks – Ortom

    Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, said on Saturday the state lost property worth over N400billion to renewed herdsmen attacks on communities.

    The governor stated this while featuring on Radio Link, a Radio Nigeria audience participatory programme in Makurdi, the state capital.

    He spoke on the achievements and challenges of his administration in the past three years.

    Ortom said the figure was quoted in a preliminary report on damages caused by the crisis, adding that the loss was huge and difficult to recover from.

    He said the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law put in place by the state government was the people’s legislation, stressing that no amount of intimidation or blackmail would make the government to repeal it.

    The governor said: “I have no regret. Why should I have any regret doing the will of my people? They trusted me and gave me their votes and I will not betray what they want. I am doing what they want and I have no regret.”

    He commended his colleagues from Taraba and Abia States for keying into the ranching law, saying it was the right way to go.

     

     

  • Security agencies and herdsmen attacks

    Sir: The nation was again thrown into another round of mourning with last week’s killings in Benue State. What is really happening in this country? Are the herdsmen better equipped and more trained than our security forces? What makes it difficult for the police and other security agencies to apprehend, arrest and prosecute the killer herdsmen? Are there official backing or cover up for the nefarious activities of these people? These and many more questions remain unanswered.

    Without prejudice, the nation’s security system has functioned far below standards and this is evidenced in the incapability to fight crime and defend the territorial integrity of the nation. With the upsurge in the activities of criminals, many people are no longer sleeping with their two eyes closed due to the inability of our security agencies to discharge out their duties efficiently and effectively. On a number of occasions, those attacked have prior knowledge of the invasions, but when alarms are raised and reports given to security forces, nothing much is done to prevent the onslaught. This has been the experience of invaded villages that got prior information on the impending attacks and law enforcement agents were unable to salvage the situation. Following the massacres in Benue earlier in the year, it was reported that terror groups had established cells in the Middle Belt and South-south areas of the country. Are we not tending towards becoming a failed state?

    What we have presently are stunted police and other security forces that are insufficiently kitted to face the superior powers of terrorists and insurgents that are better funded to unleash havoc on the Nigerian people. This unfortunate situation cannot continue, if the nation claims to truly exist as a sovereign state. Or, of what use is a state that merely exists on paper without the ability, capacity and capability to defend its people and territory from internal and external aggression? The inability of the government to take decisive action against lawlessness continues to embolden the herdsmen, to commit more atrocities against their fellow citizens.

    No doubt, the time has come for the federal government to demonstrate true leadership and take decisive action to end the menace without further delay. It is shameful that such attacks are taking place without our security agencies stopping them.

    Ranching of cattle is the way to go to modernise and boost cattle rearing in any civilised society. The insistence of herdsmen on open grazing of their cattle on the farms is an open invitation to anarchy that is playing out now. Security agencies should rise up and protect all Nigerians, wherever they may be and not only in Benue State, as the deadly herdsmen are far spreading across the land.

    • Adewale Kupoluyi,

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

  • A’Ibom CAN blame Fed Govt for herdsmen attacks

    The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Akwa Ibom State has condemned the Federal Government for not doing enough to

    stop the incessant killings by herdsmen.

    The Chairman, Rev. Dr Ndueso Ekwere, spoke yesterday at a solemn/thanksgiving service at Itu/Ibiono Ibom federal constituency. , which The solemn assembly was themed: “The Triumphant God”.

    Ekwere condemned the continuous and ungodly custody of Leah Sharibu, “just because she cannot deny her faith and Master Jesus Christ”.

    He said: “We condemn the killing of innocent souls, including the Catholic priests during their mass in Benue State. The remaining

    Chibok girls, yet to be released, should be freed without further delay.

    “We are resolute in our decision to ceaselessly pray for unmerited favour, protection of life and property. We urge Nigerians

    to imbibe and show love, kindness and tolerance to one another as exemplified by our Lord Jesus Christ and his teachings.”

     

  • Students give Fed Govt seven-day ultimatum to stop herdsmen attacks in Benue

    Students of Benue State origin across tertiary institutions in the country have given Federal Government seven days to initiate measure that would stop the invasion of farming communities in the state by killer herdsmen. The students said failure of the government to prevent further killing of innocent would lead to civil disobedience in the state.

    The students, under the umbrella of the National Association of Benue State Students (NUBESS), issued the ultimatum in a communiqué released after their general assembly at Ministry of Education in Makurdi.

    The communiqué, signed by all the students present, expressed solidarity to Governor Samuel Ortom for signing into law the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, which they described as “a lasting solution” to the menace of herdsmen invasion in the state.

    The communiqué reads: “Following the negligence of the Federal Government to endorse and effectively support the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law (2017), which is the sure solution to the herders-farmers crisis, Benue students have resolved that a seven-day ultimatum be given to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government to stop the killings in our state.”

    The students urged the government to commence the rebuilding of communities destroyed by the herdsmen, and provide relief materials to the displaced victims.

    Failure to comply with the demands, the students threatened to shut down all tertiary institutions in the state and order youths on self-defence. They vowed to halt commercial activities in the state until “a lasting solution” is brought to the killing by herdsmen.

    Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, NUBESS president, Pillah Romans, said the government would be surprised if it underestimated the capability of the body.

    He said: “I have absolute confidence that the students will cooperate. In fact, we have been receiving calls from several youth organisations, students’ bodies, workers’ unions and civil society groups expressing their support and solidarity with our move.

    “We have also been receiving calls from the security agencies threatening us with arrest if we carry out our plan in the state. We have received calls from Abuja politicians, but we are not intimidated. We are not shifting ground.”

    It would be recalled that since the beginning of this year, Benue communities have been under attack by killer herdsmen, leading to loss of lives and property, and displacement of several others.