News
Herdsmen Kill 25, Sack Eight Kogi Communities
Senator Attai Aidoko Ali
Death toll in Wednesday’s early morning attack on Dekina and Omala local government areas of Kogi State by suspected Fulani herdsmen has risen to 25, according to residents, who also said eight communities have been sacked by the invading herders.
But Senator Attai Aidoko Ali (PDP, Kogi West) said 32 persons have lost their lives as a result of the attack on the two local government areas.
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The residents alleged the herdsmen came from the troubled states of Nasarawa, Benue and Taraba.
The herdsmen were alleged to have been hovering around and gathering intelligence about the villages in the last four weeks before finally moving in their cattle.
According to residents, who spoke to DAILY INDEPENDENT, the large number of herders who came into the communities forced suspecting youths to demand their mission.
The residents added that their questions, however, infuriated the herdsmen who were heavily armed with sophisticated weapons and challenged the audacity of the residents to inquire about their mission.
In the ensuing altercation, the Vice Chairman of Abejukolo Vigilante Group in Omala Local Government Area was trailed to his farm, killed, and his vital parts removed.
Unknown to the villagers, the herders had already declared war on the village and environs as they began a killing spree which they took to the neighbouring villages of Obakume, Idrisu, Agojeju Ikpoba where scores were fatally wounded and houses torched, the residents said.
While the killing was going on by camouflage-wearing and AK47-bearing herders in Omala, the residents of Ogane Inugu and Aloko in Dekina Local Government Area were woken up by staccato of gunshots which ended with the death of about 24 persons while houses were burnt down.
Inuwa Ejigbo, a resident of Ogane Inugu, escaped the massacre by the whiskers.
He said: “When I heard the gunshots about 2a.m on Wednesday, I came out of the room to see what was amiss.
“I saw some people in military camouflage and I thought they were officers of ‘Operation Cat Race’.
“But I was disappointed when on close examination they turned out to be Fulani herdsmen unleashing terror on my communities.
“I managed to escape to safety, but many of my people, mostly women and children, were slaughtered like cows.
“Right now, many of our family members are still missing. Our reinforcement fought gallantly to repel them before the arrival of military men and the police to restore peace.
“Consequently, the president of Ife Development Association (IDA), Mr. James Odaudu, alerted the security agents of the Fulani herders’ planned take-over of Obakume village in Omala Local Government Area, calling for proactive measures to forestall further killing of the people.”
In the same vein, President of Ukomu Igala socio-cultural organisation, General Patrick Akpa, expressed sadness at the brutal killing of the people by the herders.
He said he had to convene a meeting on Thursday of all Igala sons and daughters to see how to curtail the escalating crisis.
Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Monday Bala, who confirmed the incident, however, said the command was yet to ascertain the actual casualty figure.
He said the command had drafted men of the command alongside men of the armed forces to deal with the situation, adding that his men were in total control of the situation.
It would be recalled that the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, had in November last year opened the gates of the state for the herdsmen to relocate from all the troubled states to Kogi even as he threatened to depose royal fathers and council administrators over any crisis involving the residents and the herdsmen.
He also followed this up in February with the presentation of a certificate of occupancy covering 15,000 hectares to the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, for the establishment of a cattle colony in the state.
Herders Kill Six Security Operatives, 10 Civilians In Plateau Community
Despite the curfew imposed on Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State by Governor Simon Lalong on Wednesday night to halt the attacks and killings in rural communities in Bassa council, four soldiers of ‘Operation Safe Haven’, two mobile policemen and one civil defence corps personnel, all attached to ‘Operation Safe Haven’ were allegedly killed in the early hours of Thursday by suspected herdsmen.
An eye-witness said about 10 residents also lost their lives on Thursday in the deadly encounter between the soldiers and the herdsmen, on the one hand, and the residents on the other hand.
Seven of the seriously injured residents were said to be receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
A community leader and activist, Evangelist Jerry Dati, told journalists on Thursday, in Jos that he personally confronted the herdsmen who were brandishing AK47 rifles shouting, “We cannot be defeated because these cows belong to the Generals.”
He continued: “I went to the 3 Armoured Division barracks and I was shocked by what I saw.
“I saw a harem of cows, thousands of them, disrupting the flow of traffic in the barracks.
“I want the world to know that it is the military that is arming the Fulani herdsmen.
“Rapid Propeller Grenades were launched yesterday by the Fulani and these arms are very sophisticated, and unless you are trained, you cannot handle them.
“This is to say that the Fulani have the backing of the military. The Fulani all moved their cows to the barracks knowing that they were going to launch an attack.”
According to Datim, “This is a new dimension after the curfew. I slept with the military who were trying to repel the Fulani attack till this morning.
“They were in one corner. They heard the sounds of the gunshots from the Fulani and they too were retaliating.
“But when their ammunition got exhausted, they persistently called for re-enforcement which never came.
“We are the ones feeding them. The whole thing is very annoying, because it is unimaginable that Fulani herdsmen get more ammunition than the regular and professional military.
“It calls for a serious question. This is very annoying.”
Contacted, Spokesman of the ‘Operation Safe Haven’, Major Adam Umar, denied knowledge of Datim’s revelations.
He said: “Well, we should know that we are in a democracy where anybody could go ahead and talk what he likes.
“I am not aware of what you said happened. You people should understand that our troops are in remote areas combing the interior and where they are, there is no network.
“I will get back to you after I get the details.”
Umar said there was no attack.
“Our troops are busy carrying out their patrol business. Our personnel are fully in control of the situation.
“There are foot patrols, motorcycle patrols, vehicle patrols and military fighter jet hovering around the area to ensure that the curfew imposed by the state government yesterday (Wednesday) is fully carried out.”
When Datim was told of the response of ‘Operation Safe Haven’, he repeated emphatically what he said before, adding that one of the senior soldiers came to where he was sleeping beside the other soldiers fighting the herdsmen and found that the soldiers were already sleeping.
“The senior soldier collected their arms, woke them up, and said: ‘If I were an enemy, I would have fired and killed all of you.’ He gave them back their arms. Mention my name very well. I will own up to it,” he said.
Sporadic gunshots rang throughout Wednesday night in Bassa communities as the residents and the herders engaged themselves far into the early hours of Thursday when troops from the 3rd Armoured Division, from the military high command in Abuja, were directed to move into the troubled communities to arrest the ugly development.
Senate Wants Deployment Of Security Personnel To Kogi Communities
Meanwhile, the Senate on Thursday bemoaned the rising spate of killings in the country despite resources deployed to curb same.
The Senate, therefore, urged the executive arm to deploy security agencies to Omala and Dekina local government areas of Kogi State with a view to ending killings in the areas by suspected herdsmen.
The resolution was borne out of motion under matters of urgent public importance raised by Attai Aidoko Ali (PDP, Kogi West), wherein he informed the Senate of killing of 32 persons in the two local government areas on Wednesday.
Aidoko in his presentation said 20 people were killed in Ogane-Enugu community in Dekina while 12 others were killed in Abejukolo, Agbenema communities in Omala local government area.
He said, “Despite continued condemnation of killings in many parts of the country, perpetrators of this dastardly act have not been arrested.
“I want this Senate to urge President Muhammadu Buhari to direct security agencies to bring the situation under control by arresting the perpetrators and ensure that they are prosecuted.
“This killing is taking another dimension as the killers also amputate people’s hands”, the lawmaker revealed.
Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan, said it was time that the Senate worked closely with the executive to enhance the effectiveness of security agencies in combating crime the country.
Reps Want Security Beefed Up In Troubled States
The House of Representatives on Thursday urged the executive arm to step up measures at enforcing law and order to stem the tide of violent attacks across the country.
The lawmakers also suggested that part of efforts to curb the bloodletting would be to urgently disarm gun-wielding herdsmen and bandits who had continued to terrorise states such as Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Zamfara and, recently, Kogi.
The resolutions also called on security agencies to recover farmlands under occupation and ensure that persons displaced by violent attacks repossessed their ancestral homes, properties, and farmlands.
The House also directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief materials to displaced victims of violent attacks across the country.
These resolutions followed the consideration and adoption of a motion under matters of urgent public importance brought by Istifanus Dung Gyang (PDP, Plateau).
The lawmaker, in his presentation, had expressed dismay at the resurgence of violent attacks by herdsmen in Plateau State, saying that the killings, rather than abate, are escalating.
Gyang expressed the concern that “the attackers showed no respect to the president on his visit to the state, such that while he was being hosted to a town hall meeting, communities in Bokkos and Basa local government areas came under herdsmen attacks.”
Gyang continued: “There is a military-led ‘Operation Safe Haven’ in Plateau State that has the mandate of enforcing law and order and securing the lives and property of law-abiding citizens.
“However, despite their presence, the killer herdsmen are still having a field day in killing and sacking whole communities and villages.
“The latest round of attacks and killings is concentrated on Daffo and Kwall Miango axis of Bokkos and Bassa local government areas involving the death of 45 and 29 persons, respectively.
“The victims have been given a mass burial.”