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Tag: Herdsmen

  • Benue Massacre: Killer herdsmen not part of us – Miyetti Allah

    A Fulani socio-cultural association, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore has distanced itself from gruesome killings that occurred in Benue State last week.

    The association said whoever perpetrated such crime is not a member of the socio-cultural group.

    They condemned the recent attack in Benue state, leading to death of innocent people including women and children.

    The group, describing the perpetrators of the evil act as irresponsible elements said the Fulanis are peace loving people.

    In a statement issued at the weekend by the National Publicity Secretary of the association, Alhaji Yusuf Ardo, said the killings are unfortunate and condemnable to all.

    He emphasised that Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore is an association which uphold peace, love, unity and harmony in the country, adding that they have never supported violence in the society and they would never do so any time, any day and any were in the country.

    “We are peace loving people, we believed in love for one another. Any Fulani Pastoralist that doesn’t believe in peace is not part of us,” he added.

    However, the association commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his prompt action on the matter by sending the Hon. Minister of interior, Gen. Abdulrahaman Danbazau (RTD) to the area.

    The group further appealed to security agencies to arrest the perpetrators of the ugly incident and bring them to book.

    They urged individual groups and individuals going about making false allegation against the association to desist from the act.

    “It is because of our peace loving that made the association challenge the anti-grazing law in court, we believed in judiciary not violence,” It read.

    The association called on all Fulani Pastoralist living in Benue and other parts of the country to remain calm and be law abiding citizen, urging the Federal government to also look into the causes of the crisis in states like, Adamawa, Taraba, Kaduna, Zamfara, Nasarawa, Benue and Plateau states so as to have a lasting solution in those areas, particularly the issues of anti-grazing laws and others involving Fulani Pastoralist in the country.

  • Treat violent herdsmen as terrorists, Benue lawmaker tells LG

    A member representing Logo Constituency in Benue House of Assembly, Hon. Terna-Kester Kyenge, on Saturday urged the Federal Government to declare violent Fulani herdsmen as terrorists and also treat them as such.

    His appeal was contained in a statement that he issued to The Nation in Abuja, demanding the State and Federal Government to declare a two-day of national mourning of the victims that the Fulani herdsmen allegedly massacred in the state.

    He asked the President Muhammadu Buhari to deploy sufficient security personnel in the effected areas to forestall any re-occurrence of the onslaught and make the perpetrators to face the law.

    His words: “We are in deed in a State of Emergency and I demand that the Benue State and Federal governments declare 2 days of national mourning and move decisively and with utmost dispatch as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari to deploy sufficient security personnel in the effected areas to forestall any repeat of these attacks and for once arrest and bring perpetrators to justice.

    “We also demand that the Federal Government declare Fulani herdsmen perpetrating violence against farmers across the country as terrorists and treat them as such.”

    Kyenge titled his dirge and tears invoking statement : “May the blood and tears of victims of suspected herdsmen attack in Benue not flow in vain.”

    According to him, like the killers, his massacred people and all humans have the right to live.

    Calling on the global community to help guarantee the lives of his people, the lawmaker pointed out that their right to live is guaranteed under the Nigerian law and universal charter of human rights.

    He insisted that “We will from this day not hold our peace and die in silence any longer, but will tell to the whole world our agony and the terror visited on us by a force propelled solely towards our destruction.

    “Reason and justice may not appeal to the herdsmen hacking our people to death with such wanton abandon, but we will cry out to the world and show our wounds for all to see. Then, perhaps, then will the blood of our fallen loved ones and our tears not flow in vain.”

    He said that as a representative of his people he appreciates that every single death diminishes them collectively.

    He added that “I am impoverished and have never felt this damned and unsettled as continuously hapless constituents are hounded, villages razed and ancestral farm lands sacked while government gropes endlessly for solutions.”

    The statement reads in part: “From Tse Akenawe, to Tse Verinumbe, to Tse Orveren, to Jootar, to Tyogbenda Anyiin communities in Gambe-Tiev, Logo to Tomatar near Tse Abi, Nongov in Guma Local Government Areas, it has been sustained attacks and killings as the statistics swell with daily harvest of tons of corpses from surrounding environs.

    “These settlements have been reduced to ghost habitations with huge numbers of displaced old, women and children trekking aimlessly with neither food, water nor shelter.

    “This is in deed one invasion too many, and the deafening silence hovering over it from the top must be broken now and for good.

    “Once again, as I commiserate with HE Samuel Ortom and the government and peace loving people of Benue State and particularly helpless Logo State Constituents in our season of collective grief and great loss, I pledge on my oath that I will not relent in my resolve to fight to get justice for my constituents. I will continue to collaborate with agencies and actors of government to bring lasting peace and succor to my people.”

  • Herdsmen have killed, displaced more people than Boko Haram – CAN

    …says FG not showing willingness to end gruesome killings of herdsmen

    …warns FG to take immediate action before another civil warn occurs

    The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN has urged the Federal Government to be more proactive to the killings of herdsmen they way it does with other terrorist groups in the country.

    In a statement signed by the CAN president, Samson Ayokunle, the association said the trend has reached what it describes as the ‘breaking point of its tolerance level’ and urged immediate action to stop the killings.

    “We in the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) are forced to make this press release on the continuous inhuman and wicked activities of the Fulani Herdsmen all over the Federation who are going from community to community killing innocent farmers with impunity.

    “They have killed more people than the Boko Haram sect and almost displaced more people than them. We are now reaching a breaking point in our patience and toleration of this wicked impunity before degenerating to a civil war.

    “While the government has taken the battle to Boko Haram terrorists, the Indigenous People of Biafra, the Badoo boys, the Niger Delta Avengers and other groups, the government has not shown any serious willingness to checkmate the murderous Fulani Herdsmen. This to us is a betrayal of the confidence reposed in this government by Nigerians when they voted them into power,” the statement said.

    The association also accused the federal government of failing in its constitutional duty of protecting the nation, adding that there was no excuse for the government’s ‘failure to investigate the sources of ammunition used by the herdsmen.’

    “Similarly, the government has failed to uphold the constitution which they swore to uphold because they have failed in protecting Nigerians from the attacks of Fulani herdsmen in the affected areas. If they continue to allow Fulani herdsmen to be having a field day in killing people like this, is it not the Fulanis alone that would remain that they would be governing? God forbid.

    “We need to know why the intelligence units of all security apparatus we have in this country have not been able to discover the sources of supply of ammunition to Fulani herdsmen living virtually in the bush. The Customs and the Immigration services together with the Police have case to answer. Who are the suppliers of these weapons? If the murderous herdsmen are foreigners, as it is being claimed in some quarters, why did we allow dangerous foreigners into our country to come and kill us? Our government has a case to answer too,” the statement added.

    CAN also called on the international community to help in addressing the problem.

    It said it has set aside a date for churches to pray against the menace.

    “We urge all churches to set aside time this coming Sunday, January 7, to pray for Nigeria and for victory over the killings. Our nation can never be great in a state of insecurity and war as we are presently experiencing it. This government owes the entire Nigerians the responsibility of competent action, not just action by words of mouth,” the statement said.

    Herdsmen attacked and killed at least 20 people in Benue communities last week.

    The Police said they have arrested eight herdsmen over the deaths which they put at 10 persons.

    “Eight herdsmen, six in Guma and two in Logo, had been arrested in connection with the attacks,” a police spokesman said.

    There have been series of attacks by suspected herdsmen in many parts of the country with huge casualties recorded in recent years.

  • Herdsmen kill over 20, injure over 30 in Benue – Gov. Ortom

    Herdsmen kill over 20, injure over 30 in Benue – Gov. Ortom

    Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue said herdsmen had killed over 20 persons between Monday and Tuesday in Guma and logo local government areas of the state.

    Ortom disclosed this while briefing journalists on Tuesday in Makurdi after the State Security Meeting.

    He said that out of the number, nine were Livestock Guards who were to ensure the full implementation of the Anti-Open Grazing Law.

    He said that the law was not targeted at any ethnic group and wondered why the herdsmen had taken it so personal to the point of unleashing terror on the people.

    The governor also lamented the unwarranted wanton destruction of lives and property by the herdsmen.

    He said that no matter the intimidation and killings by the herdsmen, the law would not be reversed or repealed.

    He assured that the law must be implemented to the latter and anybody or group of persons that flouted it would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

    Ortom called on the Federal Government to wade into the matter so as to avert further destruction of lives and property.

    Dr Gajir Tsoho of the Surgical Department, Benue State University Teaching Hospital, said over 30 injured victims of the herdsmen attack were brought to the hospital and were receiving treatment.

  • Herdsmen shoot NAF fighter Jet in Adamawa

    Armed herdsmen have fired at the Alpha Jet and EC 135 Helicopter deployed in Adamawa State by the military, The PUNCH is reporting.

    The Alpha Jet and EC 135 Helicopter were deployed by the Nigerian Air Force in Numan and Demsa Local Government Areas of Adamawa State following the clashes and crises in the villages there.

    According to The PUNCH, the herdsmen, who were dressed in black, reportedly attempted to bring down the fighter aircraft, which were flown to fire “only warning shots” and not to kill any of the attackers.

    The PUNCH quoted a top NAF source as saying: “A lot of damage had been done in Numan already by the gunmen before the fighter aircraft moved in. We actually caught the gunmen doing more damage and they needed to be stopped. So, we fired warning shots ahead of them. They were with a vast number of cows and they moved the cows under a shed as they set more buildings in the area on fire.

    “At some point, the gunmen actually started firing at our aircraft. There was a bridge on that way to Jalingo, Taraba State, where they finally ran to. The Alpha Jet was not asked to bomb them. It did not actually carry bombs. We were on an internal security operation and a fundamental principle of such operation was the use of minimum force.”

  • Fulani herdsmen kill 10 in Kogi invasion

    People suspected to be herdsmen, on Friday, killed 10 residents of Ogabifo village in Omala Local government area of Kogi State.

    Farmlands were also set ablaze by the rampaging herdsmen.

    Reports from the area said the herdsmen invaded the farmlands with their animals for grazing, and when the farmers challenged them over the destruction of their crops, the invaders responded aggressively.

    They attacked the farmers and pursued them to their homes and killed some of them while several others were wounded.

    It was gathered that after the said invasion, the herdsmen returned to the farms, destroying crops and then ran away.

    A source whose name could not be ascertained said that the Fulani herdsmen, about five in number, were armed with AK 47 and other dangerous weapons.

    The source said that the villagers have deserted their houses, following threats by the herdsmen, to return.

    In another incident, Fulani herdsmen invaded a rice farmland at Omi in Yagba West local government area of the state, with over 30 cattle.

    One of the victims said that other farmers were on their farms working, when they heard gunshots, forcing them to run for safety.

    Efforts made to confirm the incidents from the Kogi State Police Command proved abortive as of the time of filing this report.

  • BREAKING: Fulani herdsmen kill three policemen in Adamawa

    At least three policemen are feared killed in Bolon in Numan Local Government Area of Adamawa State, North East Nigeria.

    The incident occurred after a clash between suspected herdsmen and the security personnel sent to keep the peace in the area following recent clashes between the herdsmen and farmers.

    The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had dispatched a team of policemen to the area after the initial violence.

    The suspected herdsmen were said to be planning a reprisal on the communities in Numan LGA before Friday’s clash with the security operatives.

    Details soon…

  • Abdulsalami Abubakar moans Nigeria losing $13.7bn to herdsmen, farmers clashes yearly

    1. A former military Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, says Nigeria loses $13.7 billion annually as a result of farmers-herdsmen conflicts in Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Plateau states.

    Mr. Abubakar made the disclosure at a forum organised by Search for Common Ground, Nigeria, in collaboration with Abdulsalami Abubakar Institute for Peace and Sustainable Development.

    The forum, with the theme, Amplifying the Expertise of African Peace-building Practitioners and Scholars, was organised for farmers and herdsmen at Maizube Farm in Bosso Local Government Area of Niger on Monday.

    It aims to increase knowledge sharing on farmers-herdsmen conflicts by peace-building scholars and practitioners and policy makers in Nigeria and globally.

    The organiser is an international non-profit organisation that promotes peaceful resolution of conflicts with offices in Washington and Brussels.

    Mr. Abubakar said 62,000 people were displaced in Kaduna, Benue and Plateau states between January, 2015, and February 2017 in farmers-herdsmen conflicts.

    He said 2,500 people died nationwide in farmers and herdsmen conflicts.

    He commended the organisation for initiating the forum with a view to building synergy between the academia and practitioners as well as to generate evidence for policy-making on farmers and herdsmen conflicts in Nigeria.

    Mr. Abubakar said the initiative would further reduce farmers and herdsmen conflicts in Nigeria through a holistic interrogation of issues critical to resolving the conflicts in Nigeria and Africa.

    He added that the initiative would enhance and boost relationships that had existed between the two interdependent groups and reduce the impacts of the conflicts on the affected communities.

    “Farmers and herdsmen conflicts have become a threat to peace, security and development of our nation.

    ‘’This meeting is coming at a critical time when farmers and herders conflicts have become an issue of global concern.”

    Mr. Abubakar said the worry had heightened “with the recent crisis in Plateau, Benue and other states that have led to loss of lives, properties, displacement of persons and families, untold hardships to communities and individuals affected.

    “These deadly conflicts are expanding gradually to other states and the current situation is threatening the fragile peace and security of the nation.”

    Mr. Abubakar called on the forum and other relevant stakeholders to come up with suggestions, including the roles of government, civil society, the media, traditional rulers, community and professional, in addressing the conflicts.

    He advised stakeholders to strengthen the capacities of organisations working with farmers and herdsmen, women, communities and youths in addressing their needs.

    Bukola Ademola, Conflict Analyst, Search for Common Ground, Nigeria, attributed farmers and herdsmen conflicts in Nigeria to unequal access to land and resources between farmers and herdsmen.

    She said livelihood was a factor that directly pitted farmers and herdsmen against each other in competition for resources to sustain crops and animals.

    According to her, addressing this protracted and often violent conflict requires a new way of doing things and building synergy between peace-building practitioners and researchers.

    “There should be strengthening of the quality of the evidence collected through practice and increase the dissemination of practitioner knowledge toward policy institution,” she said.

     

    NAN

  • PHOTO: Remains of 120 people allegedly killed by herdsmen laid to rest in Zamfara

    A mass burial has been organised for the 120 people allegedly killed by Fulani Herdsman on Saturday in Zamfara State.

    This was made known in a Facebook post by one Waziri Mohammed who claims to be a member of staff of the National Emergency Management Agency.

    He wrote, “This is the burial of 120 people killed by killer herdsmen in Zamfara state on Saturday but unfortunately, our media didn’t see it newsworthy maybe because it didn’t take place where it will be giving religious or ethnic meaning.

    “Our media houses need to wake up and do more that can unite the country rather than concentrate on what can divide us.

    “May Allah forgive the dead, heal the injured and destroy the animals that find pleasure in killing innocent souls for whatever reason.”

  • Herdsmen, farmers sign peace pact in Niger

    Herdsmen, farmers sign peace pact in Niger

    Herdsmen and farmers in Mashegu Local government Area of Niger have signed a peace agreement to stop clashes among them.

    Alhaji Abdullahi Babayo, Director-General of Nomadic Affairs Agency in the state, disclosed this in a statement issued in Minna on Wednesday.

    Babayo said the aim of the meeting was to reconcile communities that were affected by farmers/herdsmen crisis in the area.

    He said that the meeting was attended by Alhaji Bala Sai’du, Chairman, Mashegu Local Government, Alhaji Ardo Adamu, Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in Niger, Fulani Herdsmen, Farmers, District Heads and community leaders from the area.

    According to him, the meeting was to promote peace among farmers and herdsmen and to appeal to herdsmen to desist from grazing on farmlands to avoid clashes with farmers.

    The director-general advised both parties to abide by the agreement and continue to respect the cultures of one another, tradition and means of livelihood.

    He urged them to be law abiding and live in peace irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affiliations.

    “Farmers and herdsmen should adopt alternative dispute resolution mechanism whenever there is a disagreement in order to avert the negative effects of crisis,’’ he said.

    Babayo also urged the Herdsmen to report any suspicious persons to the appropriate authority.

    He said this would enable the authority to interrogate the persons to know their mission in the state.

    He also advised both farmers and herdsmen against blocking cattle routes and destroying farmlands so as to sustain the peace in the area and guarantee food security.

     

     

    NAN