TheNewsGuru

Tag: Benue

  • Killings: Osinbajo reinstates FG’s commitment to ensuring peace in Benue, others

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday said the Federal Government would not relent in its efforts at ensuring peace in crisis prone areas of the country.

    Osinbajo, who was represented by the Administrator, Aso Villa Chapel, Rev. Peter Ambi, said this during the National Peace and Leadership Summit organised by the Youth For Peace and Good Leadership Initiative International in Abuja.

    The theme of the Summit is `The Role of the Youth in Nation building’.

    He said peace was important for any peaceful development in the country, saying the killings in parts of the country must stop.

    “Nobody is happy about the killings in parts of the country, this administration is working to ensure that peace is restored to those communities.

    “The killings in mosques, churches and other public areas for one reason or the other must be stopped,’’ Osinbanjo said.

    He called on the youths across the country not to allow themselves to be used to cause havoc in the country, saying the youths should be peace ambassadors.

    The Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), 19 Northern states and FCT, Rev. Yakubu Pam, said the religious leaders are tired of conducting mass burials in affected areas in the country, saying there should be quick intervention.

    “ We need people with different and positive thinking and not people who think of vengeance,’’ he said.

    The National Chairperson of the Women Wing of CAN, Mrs Oyin Sowoolu, advised the youths to use their talents positively to move the nation forward, adding that the role of youths in the country should not be undermined.

    The Founder of the Youth For Peace and Good Leadership Initiative International, Mr Simon Dolly, said the purpose of the summit was to educate the youths as they were mostly the key actors of social vices in the country.

    Dolly said the youths should be able to complement the role of government in ensuring peace and contribute their quota in nation-building.

    He said the summit would be replicated in the six geo-political zones in the country, saying that the youths would be given certificate as peace ambassadors of Nigeria in order to encourage peace in the various areas.

    One of the youths at the summit, Stella Francis-Utah, said the youths needed to contribute to peaceful coexistence, adding that they should stop thuggery and any form of violence.

    The Youth For Peace and Good Leadership Initiative International is an NGO with the aim to promote peaceful co-existence and religious harmony in the society.

  • Benue groups to drag FG before UN, ICC over incessant killings

    Sequel to the incessant killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Benue State, a coalition of socio-cultural groups in the state, comprising Mdgzou U Tiv, Idoma National Forum and Omi’Ngede, have resolved to drag the Federal Government before the United Nations.

    Also, a popular lawyer from the state, Prof. Agbo Madaki, has said that in addition to the efforts by the groups, the spate of killings in the state had left himself and other prominent persons in the state with no option but to drag the concerned authorities before the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands.

    They, therefore, called on the international bodies to carry out an immediate and an independent investigation into the “heinous” killings of Benue people, which they described as an act of terrorism.

    The groups also accused the Federal Government of being complicit in what they described as an attempt to wipe out the Tiv nation in the country.

    Speaking to newsmen on Friday, the President General, Mdgzou U Tiv, Chief Edward Ujege, said the group was already collating materials detailing the activities of herdsmen attacks in the state, which he said had led to the death of hundreds of people and destruction of properties.

    He stressed that the spate of attacks in the region was an act of terrorism, alleging that the Tiv people in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states had been the target of the series of attacks on the region by the suspected herdsmen.

    He said, “Our group, comprising of Mdgzou U Tiv, Idoma National Forum and Omi’Ngede, have decided to formally write the United Nations to raise the issue of the crisis in Benue State, particularly, the ethnic cleansing in Benue.

    “Within the past four months, hundreds of people were killed in Benue and properties worth billions of naira also destroyed, due to the activities of these herdsmen.

    “This is pure ethnic cleansing because the whole attacks have been on the Tiv ethnic group of Nasarawa, Taraba and Benue states. However, we have compiled all the attacks, the attendant casualties and destruction of property in all these areas, which we are attaching to our report.”

    The Amnesty International had said that as of January 30, the herdsmen crisis had claimed 168 lives, while it lamented in a statement by its country’s director, Osai Ojigho, that in 2017, 549 deaths were recorded across 14 states, while thousands were displaced.

    However, between January and the time of filing this report, several other persons had been killed, including the recent attack on Ukpor-Mbalom in Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State, where 19 Tiv people, including two priests, were killed during morning Mass.

    Meanwhile, Madaki, who expressed his full support for the move to approach the UN, lamented that the killings had crippled every aspect of the lives of Benue people and the economy of the state.

    “This has left the state with no other available option than to lodge a formal complaint with the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court of Justice at The Hague, who can in the process cause an investigation into the killings. It is not necessary that it must be the state government that would lodge the complaint,” he said.

    He added, “We lawyers, groups and individuals will collect data of these mindless attacks and lodge a formal complaint to the office of the Prosecutor so that those behind the killings can be investigated.

    “The good thing about the ICC is that, usually the person responsible for the crime or had the greatest responsibility for committing these crimes under the status has no immunity. So, if the President is behind the killings, he can be investigated.”

    He noted that under Article 7 of the Charter of the United Nations, “the security council can also make a reference to the International Criminal Court at The Hague for such person to be investigated.”

    According to him, the killings in Benue have a trace of terrorism.

    Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had come under heavy criticism over his statements on the killings in the country during his visit to Taraba State on March 5, 2018, where he said the crisis in Mambilla Plateau in Taraba State had claimed more lives than herdsmen killings in Benue and Zamfara states.

    The President of the National Council of Tiv Youths, Chief John Akperashi, had described the President’s statement as the height of insensitivity, saying it was an attempt to trivialise the killings in the state.

    Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Makurdi Branch, Emmanuel Agbakor, said a team of lawyers in the state had carried out an assessment of the level of destruction of lives and properties in the state with the intention to pursue legal action against the military and leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.

    Agbakor, who frowned at the manner the Federal Government is handling the killings of innocent persons in the state by suspected herdsmen, said the branch had taken the government and the nation’s security chiefs to the ICC for their “unholy silence” over the killings.

    “What is happening in Benue is genocide; a crime against humanity, which is an international crime, among many others being perpetrated across the states in the country,” he added.

    Reacting to the killings, the Mutual Union of Tiv in the United Kingdom, known as MUTUK, said on Friday that President Buhari’s “failure” to act decisively on the killings in Benue State was condemnable, saying it had worsened the security situation in the state.

    In a statement by the President of the union, Mr. Kuram Gwakyaa, in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, the union said it was high time the Federal Government stepped in to resolve the situation in Benue.

    The statement partly read, “The failure of President Buhari to act in time thus far is reprehensible and it is high time the government stepped in to resolve the wretched situation in Benue.

    “We acknowledge the need to act in any way we can and we the Tivs in the UK are working to identify further measures we can take in the coming days and will communicate these in due course. However, we will not stop telling the world what is happening in Benue until the international community turns its eyes on Benue and justice has been served.”

    The union also condemned what it described as “grotesque killings” in Benue and especially the most recent incident at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, Ukpor-Mbalom in Gwer East Local Government Area, where 19 Tiv people, including two priests, lost their lives in an attack on a church during morning Mass.

  • Benue: Stop killings in one month or …PFN warns Buhari, security agencies

    Worried by the incessant killings in some parts of the country especially in Benue State, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to raise up to the challenge immediately or risk being voted out of office in 2019.

    The call by the PFN was also supported by the Primate of the African Church, His eminence Dr. Emmanuel Udofia.

    Udofia said this on Thursday at a press conference heralding the 2nd biennial conference of the church held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Imepe, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

    The PFN, Vice-President (South-South), Bishop Simeon Okah, said if the Federal Government did not stop the killings by the killer herdsmen in the next one month, the PFN would organise a massive protest that would hold the country to a standstill.

    Okah, who spoke at a press conference on Thursday at Enerhen in Effurun, Delta State, challenged Buhari to bring his wealth of experience as a former general and military leader to bear by tackling the unwarranted killings particularly in the North-Central geopolitical zone.

    The PFN Vice-President, who doubled as the presiding Bishop of Flock of Christ Mission, also called for the immediate resignation or sacking of all serving military chiefs in the country including the Director General of the Department of State Services; the Inspector-General of Police and other sister agencies for failing to nip the killings in the bud.

    While commending the American President, Donald Trump, for advising President Buhari to tackle the killing of Christians, Okah alleged that what the killer herdsmen and their sponsors were after in the North was to kill anyone who mentions the name of Jesus.

    “While we feel so concerned is that the people in the Middle-Belt are not animals or chickens that should be murdered. The issue is not just that they are Christians, but they are human beings. We expect that President Buhari will take action because these people who are being slaughtered all voted for him in 2015.

    Udofia noted that the country was sitting on the keg of gun powder and the President was not doing enough to check the country’s slide into anarchy.

    He said, “One of the proverbial statements of our elders says ‘the chicken sweats, but it is not known to man because of its feathers.’

    “I acknowledge that Mr. President, within his human possibility is doing his best, but with the critical situation of Nigeria, the best as of today is not meeting the challenges of this day.”

    He equally condemned the recent snatching of the mace in the Senate, describing the action as exercise of power without regard. He said instead the current bickering among the arms of government they should close ranks and work together to make Nigeria the envy of other countries.

    He, however, called on all Nigerians to join hands to fight corruption as it had permeated every area of the society, adding that Buhari could not do it alone.

    The cleric also urged Christians to embrace politics to turn things around positively in the country, by contesting elective positions in the forthcoming election.

    He said, “It is not enough to sit down at home and criticise government, Christians must also come to vote and be voted for.”

  • Benue killings: Ortom appear before lawmakers, says menace will end soon

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has expressed optimism that the renewed commitment shown by the Federal Government concerning the killings in the State will end the bloodbath in the State.

    Speaking Thursday when he appeared before the State Lawmakers who summoned him to throw light on measures taking by the State Security Council to halt the incessant killings, Governor Ortom said the deployment of additional security personnel will solve the problem.

    He commended the Federal Government for deploying more military, police and Civil Defense personnel to the State.

    The Governor appealed to the people of the State to unite against external aggressors rather than engaging in internal conflicts.

    Commenting on the arrest of Mr. Tashaku Aliyu, Governor Ortom said he has no problem with his arrest but said justice should be done in his case do that in the end, truth will prevail.

    In his remarks, Speaker, Mr. Terkimbi Ikyange commended the Governor for his doggedness in resisting the take over of Benue land and assured him of the support of the House.

  • Air Force to deploy fighter gets, helicopters to Benue, others – CAS

    Air Force to deploy fighter gets, helicopters to Benue, others – CAS

    Nigerian Air Force will soon deploy fighter gets, helicopter gunships and other military assets to curb current security challenges in Benue and Taraba states, Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar, said.

    He made the disclosure at the inauguration of accommodation quarters and reference hospital for officers of 115 Special Operations Group (SOG) on Wednesday in Port Harcourt.

    He said the deployment of military assets was aimed at complementing joint intervention force already in Benue and in other troubled states.

    He added that “we are doing a whole lot to make sure that every community in Nigeria is secure. Part of that commitment is our recent establishment of Quick Response Wing in Taraba.

    “The unit will soon be deployed to Uguruoje community in the heart of Taraba. The establishment of the unit will add value to what is happening and secure communities.

    “In Benue, we already have a joint intervention force comprising army, navy and air force with over 1,000 personnel reporting there.

    “Some of the aircraft in 115 SOG will be mobilised to different areas of the country where they are required. So, everybody is working round the clock to secure the communities.”

    The chief of air staff said Federal Government and the military were committed to addressing current security challenges in the middle belt and in other parts of the country.

    He added that air force had on Monday taken delivery of two M1-35M helicopter gunships acquired from Russia as part of ongoing efforts to equip troops.

    The air chief said aside equipping troops, several efforts were made to improve welfare of troops and professionalise the air force.

    “Professionalism is not just acquisition of aircraft and getting people to fire rockets and bombs. The whole aim is equally to take care of the human beings.

    “This is why we embarked on providing officers’ accommodation building to assist in addressing the accommodation needs of this unit (115 SOG) to a large extent.

    “Similarly, the Nigerian Air Force Reference Hospital will assist in addressing secondary and tertiary healthcare needs of personnel and host community.”

    Abubakar said the military was doing a lot to ensure that Nigerians were safe to pursue their aspirations without molestation by any individual or group.

  • Troops capture another killer herdsman in Benue

    Troops have captured another killer herdsman in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue, the scene of recurring deadly attacks by herdsmen.

    The name of the captured herdsman was given as Idi Gemu.

    The capture of Gemu, whose AK 47 has also been seized by troops, brings to four the number of killer herdsmen captured in the area in the past five days.

    Many communities in the Tiv speaking areas, including Guma Local Government Area, have seen repeated attacks by herdsmen in recent times.

    Hundreds of people, especially farmers have been losing their lives to recurring herdsmen attacks in communities in North Central Nigeria in recent years.

    The development compounds the problem in Africa’s most populous nation, which has been fighting an Islamic insurgency since 2009.

    There has been no letup in the killing of people in communities in Benue, raising fears that agriculture in Nigeria’s food basket may soon be threatened.

    The Commander of 72 Special Forces Battalion, Lt.-Col. Suleiman Mohammed, told reporters on Wednesday in Makurdi that Gemu was captured on May 1.

    Mohammed said that the three other killer herdsmen were also captured in the Guma Local Government Area on April 26 and that their capture led to the capture of Gemu.

    He said that troops were doing “everything possible” to safeguard lives and property in Benue, advising residents of the state to provide useful information to security agencies.

    But in an interview with newsmen, Gemu said that the Ak 47 rifle recovered from him did not belong to him, saying that the gun belonged to one of his friends, who fled when troops swooped on them.

    Gemu claimed that he was sleeping when the soldiers came and that his friend fled after he sighted the troops.

    He said that he decided to keep the gun for the friend but was arrested with the gun by the troops.

    Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has embarked on an operational visit to troops in some of the trouble spots in Benue.

  • BREAKING: Herdsmen invade Benue village, kill 10

    BREAKING: Herdsmen invade Benue village, kill 10

    No fewer than 10 persons have been killed and several others injured after suspected herdsmen attacked Tse Iortyer, near Yelewata community in Guma LGA of Benue State.

    According to reports reaching TheNewsGuru.com the gunmen, who invaded the village around 8pm on Tuesday, also set many houses on fire.

    Over 15 persons were reportedly injured in the attack, while several others are still missing.

     

    Details soon…

  • Only five of 23 LGAs in Benue free from attacks by herdsmen — Ortom

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue, said on Monday that only five of the 23 Local Government Areas of the state were free from attacks by herdsmen.

    Ortom stated this during his first official interaction with newsmen since he returned from his vacation from the People’s Republic of China two days ago.

    He regretted the continued onslaught against the state by the killer- herdsmen and called for vigilance from the people.

    He, however, assured that President Muhammadu Buhari, was working round the clock with his security chiefs to end the attacks.

    According to him, the Chief Of Army Staff (COAS) would soon visit the state to address some of the challenges and assured that “very soon they would become a thing of the past”.

    He said the transfer of his security aides was also cancelled and explained that all political leaders in the country had the right to chose their security details.

    Ortom also condemned the burning down of over 300 houses by the Nigerian Army in Naka as well as the killing of a soldier by hoodlums in the area.

    He said neither the killing of the soldier nor the arson that followed the killing could be justified in law.

    He, however, disclosed that the five suspects linked to the soldiers death were handed over to the police and wondered why the soldiers still went on to burn houses.

    Ortom said the arrested people were nabbed by the Gwer West Council chairman and traditional rulers.

    According to him, the action of the council chairman and traditional rulers underscored heir disgust at the unlawful behavior of killing the soldier by taking the laws into their hands.

    ”This is a clear demonstration that they were not in support of the killing of the soldier,” he said.

    He said that he had reported the invasion of Naka town by soldiers to the Army chief, who promised to deal decisively with any Army personnel who would be found culpable.

    He disclosed that until the report of the COAS was out and the outcome made public, the state government would have nothing to do.

    He warned against reprisals no matter the level of provocation.

    ”Reprisal of any kind will not be accepted by my government and bloodshed should not take place in the state no matter the situation.

    ”When you allow lawlessness to prevail, you are calling for anarchy and when anarchy is allowed to prevail it will unleash a lot of havoc in the society,” he said.

    He promised not to interfere in the prosecution of his Livestock Guards Commander, Alhaji Aliyu Tershaku, who is under military detention for acts connected to the Book Haram terror group as well as recent killings in the state.

    ”I have never intervened in the arrest and prosecution of any of my appointees who is suspected to have committed murder and in Tershaku’s case too I will not be different. I will allow law enforcement agencies to do their work,” he said.

  • Army arrest Ortom’s aide for alleged involvement in Benue killings

    …We’ll allow the law take its course – Benue Government

    The Nigerian Army on Friday arrested the head of Benue Livestock Guards, Alhaji Aliyu Teshaku for allegedly masterminding recent killings in Benue State.

    Teshaku was arrested on Friday by the Army’s 707 Special Forces Brigade in Makurdi on suspicion of his involvement in some of the deadly attacks recorded across the state since January 1.

    The Army said Teshaku was a Boko Haram suspect and his arrest had input from the police and the State Security Service (SSS).

    Some of the allegations include his alleged involvement in the attack on a Catholic Church on Tuesday in which at least 15 worshipers were killed, including two Catholic priests.

    But some Benue activists are seeing his arrest as a persecution for his fierce opposition to herdsmen activities in the state.

    Recall that leaders of the Miyetti Allah have repeatedly called for Teshaku’s arrest, accusing him of enforcing the anti-open grazing law and leading a militia allegedly raised by the governor.

    While announcing the arrest, Olabisi Ayeni, spokesperson for the Nigerian Army in Makurdi, said security agents moved in time to prevent attacks that were being hatched by Teshaku and his cohorts in Bauchi, Borno and Yobe and Nasarawa States.

    The Army described him as Aminu Yaminu (a.k.a.: Tashaku), but findings revealed that the suspect’s name is Aliyu Teshaku.

    He was once detained at the Force Headquarters in June 2011 when he turned himself in after being declared wanted as a Boko Haram suspect. But he was later released by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), then headed by Babagana Monguno, now the National Security Adviser, in September 2011.

    The police said they released him to the DIA in the spirit of inter-agency cooperation after the agency requested for him.

    Teshaku, however, denied the allegations in an interview in March, saying the DIA released him because there was no evidence to establish his connection to Boko Haram.

    The arrest is seen by some Benue officials as a setback for Governor Samuel Ortom administration’s efforts against the activities of herdsmen in the state.

    Teshaku became the head of Civilian Joint Task Force tasked with checking herdsmen attacks in Benue and Nasarawa States in 2013. But his group later changed its name to Benue Livestock Guards following the introduction of anti-open grazing law in Benue State last year.

    The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in Benue State has long accused Teshaku of terrorising herdsmen and other Benue residents of Hausa or Fulani origin.

    Following the January 1 killings of over 100 people in Logo and Guma Local Government Areas of Benue, Teshaku was accused of being the head of a militia allegedly raised by Governor Ortom.

    In January, Nigerian soldiers arrested nine suspected killer herdsmen on the Benue border with Taraba State. They accused Mr Teshaku of providing arms to the suspects.

    But in an interview shortly after the allegations, Teshaku accused the military of trying to frame him. He also said the military was carrying out the agenda of Miyetti Allah which remained vehemently opposed to the anti-open grazing law.

    He added that Benue Livestock Guards had about 2,500 members and eight of them were killed in the January 1 attack in Guma because they were not armed.

    The governor also denied the allegations of raising any militia, saying the Nigerian security agencies should rise to their duty and end killings of his people. He inherited Teshaku’s group from former Governor Gabriel Suswam and kept it in place because of continued attacks by suspected herdsmen.

    Meanwhile, Governor Samuel Ortom has said the Benue State Government will not interfere in the investigations and will allow the law to take its full course.

     

    The special adviser to the governor, Paul Hembah confirmed that no ulterior motive was suspected on the part of federal government, even though he acknowledged the longstanding opposition of Miyetti Allah to Teshaku.

    “The governor has said he will not support any criminality from anyone, no matter who the person may be,” Mr Hembah, a retired colonel, told newsmen by telephone Saturday morning. “The governor will not interfere in his arrest or his release.”

    “The governor is working to end the killings so if anyone is caught, the law should take its cause,” he added.

    “We don’t suspect any foul play. We don’t think the federal government or the army is doing this to persecute him. But he would be arraigned in court and I am sure the security agency will bring out any evidence they have against him,” he said.

    He indicated that the Benue Livestock Guards would not be disbanded as a result of the arrest.

    “Naturally, someone else would be appointed to replace him because the Benue Livestock Guards would not be disbanded,” he said.

     

  • Police speaks on ‘planned’ attack on Benue mosques

    The Police Command in Benue has dismissed rumours of planned attacks on five mosques in Makurdi and other parts of the state.

    In a statement on Friday in Makurdi, the command said the rumours were the handiwork of mischief makers and urged members of the public to disregard them.

    “These are nothing but falsehood, believably meant to cause breakdown of law and order in the state.

    “It is indeed a difficult period; however, acts of insurgency being witnessed lately have nothing to do with religion, ethnicity or political alienation.

    “Therefore, in order to overcome the ongoing security challenges, the collaboration of all is required.

    “The command appreciates the calmness and understanding of the good people of the state.

    “We appeal that criminal elements should not be allowed to cause any civil disturbance to achieve their selfish interest,” the statement said.

    The command appealed to members of the public to report all suspicious persons or group of persons to the police.