The Nation Newspaper

Tag: herdsmen

  • Herdsmen kill three police officers, eight farmers in Nasarawa

    At least three police officers with the Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS) and eight others were reportedly killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen at Mararaba Udege, Aisa and Aguma communities in Nasarawa local government area of Nasarawa State.

    Several buildings were also razed in the incident which took place on Sunday.

    Our correspondent gathered that the slain policemen were deployed to quell the lingering crisis between the Agatu and Fulani herdsmen in the area when they were ambushed and killed by the marauders.

    The state Police Public Relation Officer, Ismaila Usman, confirmed the incident on Tuesday in Lafia.

    He said the conflict erupted between the Agatu people and herdsmen after an Agatu man shot a Fulani man and made away with his motorcycle.

    “As the Fulani launched a reprisal attack, the attention of the police was drawn and we quickly swung into action to ensure normalcy returned to the area. But unfortunately, our men were ambushed and three of them were killed,” the police spokesman said.

    According to him, one Inspector, a sergeant and a corporal were the victims of the attack.

     

  • Herdsmen kill 10 in Benue community , burn houses

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Benue: 7 killed, woman abducted by suspected herdsmen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Catholics protest killings of priests, appeal for calm

    Catholic faithful on Tuesday in Uyo protested the killing of two Catholic priests and 17 worshipers recently in Benue.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the placards carried by the protesters read: “No weapon fashioned against Christians shall prosper”; “Say no to terrorism in places of worship”; “Christians lives matter”; “live and lets live”; “human lives are sacred”, among others.

    Bishop of Uyo Diocese, Rev. Dr John Ayah, said that Catholics would not take up arms against Fulani herdsmen in the face of recent attacks against worshipers and priests.

    Ayah said that they would continue to depend on security agencies of government for the protection of their members, especially during church programmes.

    “The killings have become too many. The church is `arm less’ so, we will continue to depend on security provided by government.

    “If the government provides sufficient security, then there will be no point carrying guns around to protect Christians. We are do not have arms, our arms are our prayers and our rosaries.

    “So we are telling governments to wake up to their responsibilities of providing adequate security to the citizens.’’

    The bishop said that the killings by herdsmen had become unbearable and had continued to portray lack of adequate security by the Federal Government.

    In his remark, the Vicar General in charge of administration for the Diocese, Rev. Fr Donatus Udoette said that government’s responsibility was to provide adequate security for its citizens.

    Udoette said that as Christians, Catholics would not take up arms but would depend on prayers.

    He, however, called on the Federal Government to rise up to the challenge of protecting citizens from the menace of herdsmen.

  • Herdsmen kill five in Benue community

    The Chairman of Logo local government area of Benue State, Richard Nyajo, confirmed on Monday that five persons have been killed in Mchia town.

    Mchia is a farming community located along Ugba- Anyiin Road in Benue.

    Nyajo, who visited the scene of the killing, told journalists that the attackers stormed the town on Sunday afternoon.

    A youth activist, Felix Orturan Zaki, condemned the killings and urged security agencies to live up to their responsibilities by protecting lives and property of people in the state.

  • ‘Herdsmen’ kill soldier, burn truck in Benue

    •Gunmen abduct three housewives in Birnin-Gwari

    A soldier has been reportedly killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Tseke, a border settlement between Benue and Taraba states, on Anyiin/Wukari road.

    This is coming barely two days after the military launched Operation Whirl Stroke, with a promise to flush out militia.

    A community leader, Chief Joseph Anawah, said soldiers ran into an ambush during patrol.

    The suspects opened fire on their truck and killed a soldier.

    An eyewitness, Torbee Anande, said the herdsmen burnt the truck.

    It was gathered soldiers stationed in Kente, Makurdi-Ugba and Katsina-Ala mobilised and were heading to the troubled settlements.

    Police spokesman Moses Yamu said he was yet to get the report.

    Bandits yesterday morning abducted the three wives of Alhaji Adamu Nakwana, a businessman in Maganda Village, Birnin Bwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    The attack, which occurred about 2 am, is coming six days after the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, visited Birnin Gwari and ordered troops to hunt down kidnappers.

    Efforts to reach the police spokesman, Mukhtar Aliyu, were unsuccessful.

    A resident of Maganda, who pleaded for anonymity, said: “The bandits locked down the town. They went straight to Alhaji Adamu’s house and took away his three wives.

    “They did not harm any person but people are fleeing as they do not know if they will come back for another attack.”

    “The bandits later released one of the women and gave her a number that Alhaji Adamu should call them, probably to negotiate ransom.”

     

  • Benue killings: No ethnic agenda – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the killings in Benue is not a function of ethnic agenda.

    Speaking at a stakeholders meeting with the Benue opinion leaders on Tuesday night at Government House Makurdi, Osinbajo said:

    “Even though I don’t really believe that there is any ethnic cleansing agenda in the Benue killings, I sincerely share in your pains. Every pain and anger you express are justified and right.

    Anyone who has lost someone is expected to be sad. When people are killed the way people have been killed either by herdsmen or anyone, it is the duty of government to protect the people and the only way we can prove that there is no agenda is to protect the people which is what we are set out to do.

    Read Also: Suspected herdsman defiles girl, 14, in Ebonyi community

    According to him, Securities have been beefed up with the intention that people return home soon. “People have to be restored to what they were doing.” He said.

    “It is important that places that were destroyed have to be rebuilt. We need to ensure that children who are out of school return back to school. Farmers who have lost their produce need to be given money through the Anchor Borrowers Program to go and improve on what they were doing.

    “All of these are the obligations of government and I will ensure they are done because I have been asked to specifically deal with these and it means I will regularly visit Benue until the mission is accomplished.

     

  • Herdsmen are still killings our people despite military presence, Tiv leaders raise alarm

    The Tiv are demanding more action from the federal government to put an immediate end to the killings of their  kith and kin in  Benue,Nasarawa and Taraba states by herdsmen.

    The President of Mzough U Tiv, Chief Edward Ujege, and another prominent Tiv, Professor Zack Gungu,say the killings are yet to stop despite recent intervention by government and the security agencies.

    Speaking in separate interviews with The Nation,the duo said business and social life could not have been worse than it is at the moment.

    “Yes, the killings are still going on in the villages and the main targets currently seem more to be the local farmers in these villages,” Ugeje said.

    “Also the fishing community in the south eastern part of Nasarawa has been affected too. And in these areas, the killings continue.

    “It is unfortunate that as we speak, schools all over are closed. Our children are not in school. “The school system has been grounded and it has come to a halt.

    “The farmers can no longer go to the farm.It is the same situation for the fishermen and other people who ordinarily are supposed to be going about to look for their daily bread.

    “There is no way it is not going to affect the nation’s economy on the long run  because Benue contributes largely to food production of the country.

    “Our social life has been worse hit and I even heared that people coming into Makurdi from Abuja are advised to be extra careful because  anything can happen on the road.”

    Asked what action he wanted government to take,Ukeje said: “The government has deployed its security personnel to this place. There is not much we can do right now except to wait and see what happens in the next two weeks.

    “We however want the government to ensure that peace returns to our communities and the killings stopped forthwith.”

    For his part, Professor Zack Gungu  said the deployment of soldiers and policemen to some of the trouble spots has not succeeded in stopping the killings.

    His words: “It is true that there is military  and police presence here ,but that has not helped matters.

    “Yes, the military’s impact has not been felt and it is not like it has stopped anything.

    “I know you have heard about the police saying that some people have been caught with arms and ammunitions”.

    “Our people have been labeled militia and the police are trying to disarm them to the advantage of the other side. It is not right, people have been coming in here to kill people and the military and the police that are supposed to protect them are not doing so. They are not going after the helmsmen.

    “It is a total failure of a state. According to President Buhari, the herdsmen men come from as far as 2000 kilometres away from here to kill our people. How can that be? How can they make that journey and return without being caught? It is indeed the failure on the part of the government.

    “Some of us believe that the security agencies have been largely compromised. Some people say they are heavily implicated, so we do not have faith in them.

  • Methodist Bishops to FG: declare herdsmen terrorists

    The Council of Methodist Bishops has appealed to the federal government to declare Fulani herdsmen responsible for killing of farmers across the nation as terrorists.

    This, according to them, will not only neutralise the killers but also stop the killings in rural communities of the nation.

    This was contained in a communiqué at the end of the 36th Council of Methodist Bishops last week in Lagos.

    The 17-point communiqué signed by Prelate of the church, Dr Samuel Uche and Secretary of Conference, Rt Rev Dr Michael Akinwale, said: “The Council sympathises deeply with the families of all those that have

    lost their lives in the spate of killings carried out by the armed Fulani herdsmen’ especially in Benue, Southern-Kaduna, Taraba, Yobe, Nasarawa, Zamfara, Plateau, Adamawa and Bauchi and calls on the federal government to unmask their sponsors and declare all of them a terrorist organisation.

    “This call is clearly based on their ideologies and established links to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s Branch in Libya (ISIL-Libya) which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2016, ISIS-West Africa which was proscribed a terrorist organisation in 2018 and Boko Haram, which was proscribed a terrorist organisation in 2013.”

    The Bishops also commended the federal government for its anti-corruption war, stating it must not be seen to be selective or unfair.

    It however expressed reservations over the nation’s security architecture, declaring it as lopsided because “it is largely occupied by people from the North.

    “The Council urges the President to immediately correct this anomaly so as to reflect the principles of Federal Character and the need to be seen as being fair to all.”

  • Crushing incessant herdsmen/farmers clashes

    Clashes between farmers and herdsmen have been recurring for almost forty years without concerted effort by the authorities to resolve them. By now there should have been constant researches on agriculture diversification and development. There should be deliberate education/advocacy by knowledgeable researchers and practitioners in crop farming and livestock production and husbandry, plus other stakeholders including those interested in peaceful resolution of issues that Nigeria contend with from time to time.

    Lip service to providing security for lives and properties and diversification of the economy from the mono product (oil) to a non renewable wasting asset. Indeed before the discovery of oil the regional governments harnessed the resource that abides in their areas; these were used to develop the regions. Oil boom has become oil doom. Quick money with little or no serious hard work has been a malaise bedevilling the nation.

    Undoubtedly, President Muhammadu Buhari administration has been overwhelmed by the problem of insecurity /terrorism in the Northeast as well as the herdsmen/farmers clashes. The sophisticated weapons used by Boko Haram/herdsmen suggests the subtle support of powerful interest groups, this was more or less confirmed by the leaders of Miyetti Allah who were alleged to have boasted some weeks ago that unless the anti-grazing law signed by Benue State governor was repealed, reprisal attacks will follow. It happened with over 70 people killed. Till today no one has been arrested. Are the Miyetti Allah leaders the proverbial sacred cows?

    The federal government had proposed the setting up of “grazing colonies” across the country to solve the problems, but the word “colony” reminds one of slavery in the pre-independence days.

    I suggest the Minister of Agriculture should convey a two-day conference comprising agric researchers in the university of agricultural/faculty of agriculture and agric research institutes, civil servants, veterinary services and animal husbandry, as well as politicians to find a lasting solution to this menace.

    Cattle ranching appears to be the best approach (sustainable) for developing agriculture sector through integrated farming as it is done worldwide in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States of America, Japan, Brazil, and so on. Cattle ranching involve confinement of production outfit thus managing the enterprises using international best practices approach.

     

    • By Godswill Daniel

    Lagos.