25 People Killed as Herdsmen Invade Kogi Villages

•  Senate condemns killings, Benue holds another mass burial  
•  Declare herders terrorists like you did IPOB, Soyinka tells president

Damilola Oyedele in Abuja, Shola Oyeyipo in Lagos, George Okoh in Makurdi and Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja  

For the umpteenth time, suspected herdsmen, this disguised time in military uniforms, were reported to have invaded yet another community on Wednesday in the North-central geopolitical zone, killing no fewer than 25 persons in the process.  

The latest attacks, which took place in the Oganienugwu and Ikende communities in Dekina Local Government Area and Abejukolo in Omala Local Government Area of Kogi State, came two years after a similar onslaught when sectarian violence led to the death of four herders and an unspecified number of their livestock. 

In the Wednesday attack, the herdsmen were said to have fled from Benue State where they were being overwhelmed by the security forces. 

It was alleged that the herdsmen arrived in boats via the River Benue with firearms such as AK47 rifles, machetes and other dangerous weapons, and embarked on a shooting and killing spree. They also razed houses in the communities.

An eyewitness, who spoke to THISDAY thursday, said the suspected Fulani herdsmen dressed in military uniforms took the Oganenigu community by surprise, adding that the herdsmen numbering in hundreds, burned down over 20 houses in the community.

He alleged that they slaughtered people, including the four family members of a police officer, and shot at those who tried to escape into the nearby bush.

Another community in Dekina Local Government Area, Iyale, was also attacked by the herdsmen. Two persons were reportedly killed during the invasion on Iyale. 

Also, in Omala LGA, the herdsmen invade Abejukolo community killing an unspecified number of persons.  It was gathered that in Abejukolo, one Joshua Angulu, was slaughtered by the assailants during the attack.  

There were also reports that another set of suspected herdsmen had crossed into Omala through the River Benue from Nasarawa State.  

They were said to have camped in the Obakume Forest, preparing for the attacks on Abejukolo and adjoining villages. 

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Monday Bala while speaking with reporters yesterday, confirmed the attacks, but said they could not give a number on the casualties.  

He said that the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aliyu Janga, deployed mobile policemen in the troubled communities to restore law and order.

 

Senate Condemns Killings

 

Reacting to the gruesome attacks, the Senate thursday condemned the killing of at least 25 persons in Dekina and Omala Local Government Areas of Kogi State by suspected herdsmen.

It also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to issue an order to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris and heads of other security agencies to quickly move in and apprehend the perpetrators of the attacks.

The lawmakers also demanded stronger action from Buhari and his security chiefs to tackle the insecurity ravaging different parts of the country.

Senator Ali Aidoko (Kogi, APC), in a motion at plenary, said the security agencies were informed when the herdsmen were camped nearby before the attacks began, but no action was taken

“Whole communities were razed, villages evacuated and the new dimension to it now is that people are being maimed. They would catch women, cut their hands and let them go,” he said.

Aidoko expressed shock that there had been no reaction from the Kogi State Government. 

“Of course they will say issues of security are the responsibility of the federal government. This is why I am calling on the president, as he has the power to deploy troops,” he said, insisting that the situation was beyond the capacity of the police.

Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi, APC) said the level of attacks had shown gross incompetence at both the federal and state levels.

“We expected this to happen when the governor (Yahaya Bello) said anywhere they chase a Fulani man away, he should come to Kogi. So today, some criminals capitalised on the verbal diarrhoea of the governor,” Melaye said.

Melaye, who has been engaged in a running battle with Bello, called on the president to summon the governor over the situation in Kogi.

“He (Buhari) must show aggressive capacity, this normal approach cannot work. Whether they are Yoruba or Fulani, a criminal is a criminal and should be treated that way,” Melaye added. 

Senator Emmanuel Paulkner (Bayelsa, PDP) said Buhari must not be complacent and must take decisive action.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia, PDP) was much more critical of the president when he described Buhari as a “president that does not know anything”.

“I agree that we should work with the executive arm of government, but this executive has it accepted responsibility? We have a president that says, ‘I didn’t know my IG did not follow my order. I didn’t know that this happened,” he said.

At this point, Abaribe was interrupted by the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, who said his colleague had digressed from the subject matter and was talking about the president who “has shown concern by visiting Taraba, Benue and Dapchi”.

Abaribe, however, maintained he could speak about the president who is in charge of security. 

“I am keeping my contribution to security and the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) is in charge of security, but the C-in-C says he does not know anything, then we have to wonder if the issue of security is in the right hands.

“Let us beg this president to take responsibility for one thing so that we can be safe in Nigeria,” Abaribe added.

Adopting the prayer of the motion, the Senate urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief for the persons displaced by the attacks in Kogi.

 

Benue Holds Mass Burial

 

Also in neighbouring Benue State, Governor Samuel Ortom yesterday decried the level of bloodshed in his state due to the atrocities of the herdsmen.

He spoke at St. Bernard’s Primary School, Ugwu-Okpoga in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, during the mass funeral held in honour of 26 victims of herdsmen attacks on Omusu and Okana communities last week.

The state on January 11 held a mass burial for 73 other victims of herdsmen attacks on new year day.

He reiterated his call on the security agencies to arrest the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, whom he said were the sponsors of the killings in the state, based on the comments credited to them and published by various media houses.

The governor, while condoling with the bereaved families, said the arrest of the herdsmen would bring an end to the massacre of Benue people.

He stated that the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law had come to stay in Benue, noting that there was no land for open grazing and crop farming to go on concurrently.

Ortom assured Benue people that his administration would continue to respond swiftly to the security challenges, adding that data was being gathered for compensation for damages caused by herdsmen attacks in Benue.

In separate remarks, the deputy governor, Mr. Benson Abouno, deputy speaker of the state assembly, Mr. James Okefe, and the representative of Bishop Apochi, Rev. Fr. John Attah, among others, conveyed their appreciation to Ortom for his support to the bereaved families and pledged their support for the ranching law.

On their part, the three socio-cultural groups in the state, represented by Mr. Omele Amali, and the representative of Movement Against Fulani Occupation (MAFO), Mr. Dave Ogbole, said they saw the attacks coming and reported to the relevant authorities but nothing was done to avert the massacre.

While expressing disappointment with the federal government over its inactions towards the killings, Ogbole called on the international community to rise up and stop a repeat of Rwanda in Nigeria, adding that the decision by Benue people to remain law-abiding should not be mistaken for cowardice.

In his sermon, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Benue State chapter, Rev. Akpen Leva, prayed to God to grant the governor and the entire Benue people the strength to overcome the menace of herdsmen attacks.

The chairman of Okpokwu Local Government Council, Mr. Olofu Francis Ogwuche, while condemning the killings, called on well-meaning Nigerians and international bodies to assist those who have been displaced by the attacks. 

He called for more security forces to be deployed in Benue in order to secure all the local government from further attacks.

 

‘Declare Them Terrorists’

 

Also reacting yesterday to the incessant gruesome attacks by suspected herders of livestock in several parts of the country, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka called on the president to declare the marauding herdsmen terrorists just like he did to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Soyinka wondered why Buhari has not declared the herdsmen responsible for the recent killings across Nigeria terrorists.

Speaking during a dialogue organised by Ripples Nigeria in Lagos, the Nobel laureate said if IPOB could earn the terrorist organisation tag from the Buhari-led federal government, there was no reason why the Miyetti Allah, the umbrella body of herdsmen in Nigeria, should not be slapped with a similar label.

“Our Minister of Defence shot himself in the mouth when he made excuses for the herdsmen by saying, ‘What do you want them to do when squatters are sitting on their land?’ It is very shameful that the Minister of Defence is still serving in Buhari’s government,” Soyinka said.

In an hour-long speech titled, “Miyetti to Haiti; Notes from a Solidarity Visit,” Soyinka could not hide his disgust over what he considered excuses being made for the killer herdsmen.

The drying up of the Lake Chad has been blamed for the violent inclinations of the herdsmen, but Soyinka was having none of it.

“When I read of untenable explanations like Lake Chad is receding… water is drying up… I don’t want to hear about all these ridiculous excuses. Nature has been kind to us. We don’t have earthquakes in Nigeria,” Soyinka lamented.

The Nobel laureate said during a visit to an earthquake-ravaged Haiti, herdsmen had neither sticks nor AK-47s. He wondered why the herdsmen roaming Nigeria have been allowed to bear arms.

“I used to wonder whether to call them Fulani herdsmen or not. But now I can call them Fulani herdsmen because they have identified themselves as Fulani herdsmen,” Soyinka said.

Soyinka also took on Buhari for attending a wedding in Kano just days after terrorists abducted 110 schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State.

Soyinka has been very critical of the Buhari administration and its handling of the security challenges bedevilling the country in recent times.

Other speakers at the event included former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi and Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi of the Transition Monitoring Group.