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Tag: Massacre

  • Police arrest 130 in connection with Benue massacre

    The Benue State Police Command said it has arrested no fewer than 130 suspects over the recent massacre and subsequent threat to peace in the state.

    The detainees include those being held for killings in parts of the state and attacks on residents of Makurdi, the state capital.

    “The number of those arrested is high. The number is not necessarily restricted to a certain category,” Police Deputy Inspector General (Operations) Habila Joshak said.

    Joshak is assisting Inspector General Ibrahim Idris to co-ordinate police operations to contain the recent mayhem in the state.

    He had been contacted to assess the security situation in the state, two weeks after the burial of 73 victims of Fulani herdsmen attacks.

    President Muhammadu Buhari subsequently directed Idris to move to the state to stop the security challenge.

    Joshak said: “There were attempts to cause security challenges in the city of Makurdi, around the Wadata area.

    “Some houses were attacked and cars vandalised, so, those involved were also rounded up. About 130 have been arrested altogether over the disturbances in the city.

    “In the areas earlier affected by the violent crisis, some arrests have been made.”

    He said relative peace has now returned to the state and more police personnel deployed to keep trouble makers away.

    Continuing, the DIG said: “Assessing the performance of security officers or the situation on ground is based largely on the perception of the citizens themselves.

    “You may be thinking that you are succeeding or doing something significant in the security template and people may be thinking otherwise.

    “On the other hand, you may assume that you have not done so much because of limited time and number of activities while what you have done may be of extremely significant impact to the people.

    “However, we have been able to stop some of the nefarious activities that were going on in some local governments, particularly in Guma and Logo as well as Agatu area of Benue state.

    “Beyond that, our coming has assisted in coordinating activities by analyzing and assessing threats from one location to another. The IGP is coordinating and making a lot of inputs. He has convened several stakeholders meetings in both Benue and Nassarawa states.”

    Joshak said the massive deployment of more personnel has also assisted the police in bringing the situation under control.

    His words: “We have done massive deployment of personnel. Outside the normal presence on ground, the reinforcement at the Nassarawa state end is eight units; each unit comprises 63 policemen.

    “In Benue state, there are 10 additional units. Outside the ten units, we have a highly specialized unit that was trained in Belarus, with the military who formed the initial action plan and those who actually started the conduct of the action against Boko Haram in the Northeast.

    “They can be said to be a counter-terrorism unit but they are more than that, having done some highly specialized training with the military in Belarus. They can be airlifted and dropped to repel anywhere. Their duty is to go in, fight and come back.”

  • Benue massacre: Buhari’s silence encouraging herdsmen to wreak more havoc – Reps

    Members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday said President Muhammadu Buhari’s indifference to the killings by Fulani herdsmen across the country is a booster to their (herdsmen) morale to wreak more havoc.

    The lawmakers said this when they reconvened in Abuja on Tuesday after their Christmas and New Year break.

    They debated extensively on a motion titled ‘Need for the Federal Government to Declare a State of Emergency on Security over Spate of Deadly Attacks in the Country by Suspected Herdsmen.’

    The motion was jointly moved by Mr. Babatunde Kolawole and Mr. Dickson Tarkighir.

    A large number of the lawmakers also supported the position of the Benue State Government that ranching of cattle would go a long way in reducing the conflicts between farmers and herders.

    A member, Mr. Hassan Saleh, told the session, which was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, that the Monday meeting with Buhari in Abuja did not give any hope that a solution would soon be found.”

    Saleh, a member of the All Progressives Congress from Benue State, described the government as having “failed woefully” in securing the lives and property of Nigerians.

    He noted that a government, whose body language suggested that cattle had more value than the lives of its citizens, had failed the people.

    Saleh told the plenary about the Monday meeting between the people of Benue State and Buhari over the attacks by herdsmen and the feeble reactions by security agencies.

    He said the response the delegation got from the President did not indicate that any serious steps were being taken to contain the situation.

    Saleh said, “What is happening is a failure of government right from Mr. President to all of us seated here.

    “We met with Mr. President yesterday (Monday) and our takeaway was nothing. All he said was ‘go and investigate,’ (to security agencies).

    “So, what is happening is that the political will to tackle this problem is not there.”

    Another APC member, Mr. Orker Jev, observed that the lack of political will could be seen in the “fact that this government is not giving the herdsmen the same attention it has given to Boko Haram.”

    Jev dismissed the excuse that the killers were foreigners as another sign of weakness by the government.

    He said, “The political will is not there right from the Presidency. The government is not giving the herdsmen the same attention it has accorded Boko Haram insurgents.

    “If the claim is that the killers are foreigners, is that not a failure of governance?

    “Will you allow foreigners to come into your country, kill your citizens and you keep quiet because you have cultural affinity with the killers?”

    Another APC member, Mr. John Dyegh, told the House that there was a “misrepresentation” of the anti-grazing law passed by the Benue State House of Assembly by some interests, who were opposed to it.

    He informed the House that an impression was created that the state government’s intention was to chase the Fulani out of Benue, adding that “this is far from the truth.”

    Dyegh said, “All the government did was to say that herdsmen could buy land, settle in the state and ranch their cattle.

    “Nobody said Fulani people should leave Benue. This is where the misrepresentation comes in.”

    More speakers, including Mr. Rotimi Agunsoye, Mr. Oghene Emma-Igoh, Mr. Sergious Ose-Ogun, Mr. Teseer Mark-Gbillah and Ms. Funke Adedoyin, condemned the killings by the herdsmen.

    However, two members noted that both the government and Nigerians had not treated the herdsmen fairly over the years.

    One of them, Mr. Sadiq Ibrahim, argued that while government, over time, provided comfort for other Nigerians, it left the herdsmen to their fate.

    He stated that so long as state governors and Nigerians were unwilling to make sacrifices to protect the herdsmen by donating land to them, the violence would continue to occur.

    Ibrahim opposed the idea of ranching, saying that the herdsmen did not have the technical know-how.

    “The herdsman needs our pity. Nature has been harsh to him and government has not taken adequate care of him.

    “We all have to make sacrifices in one way or another in order to address this problem holistically,” he added.

    On her part, Mrs. Aisha Dukku, confirmed that a Fulani herder preferred to save a cow to saving his own life.

    Dukku, who is an APC member from Gombe State, said, “Where is the N100bn that former President Goodluck Jonathan gave to governors to establish grazing reserves for cattle? Why is nobody calling the governors to account?”

    Dogara, who had earlier welcomed his colleagues from the break, noted that the killings could be contained if security agencies were proactive.

    He called on Buhari to constantly wield the big stick by sacking non-performing heads of security agencies.

    “The accentuation of violent crimes is a chronic symptom of defects in our security architecture, which we must fix.

    “I therefore call on Mr. President to apply maximum sanction on public officers who are derelict in the performance of their duties,” the Speaker added.

    Members later passed the motion in a majority voice vote and set up an ad hoc committee to meet with service chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, and the Minister of Interior, Lt Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), for a r dialogue on the killings by herdsmen.

  • Benue Massacre: Tears, emotions as victims are buried

    Benue Massacre: Tears, emotions as victims are buried

    Residents of Makurdi remained mournful on Thursday as bodies of the victims of the herdsmen attacks of January 1 and 2 on parts of Benue were given mass burial.

    Government offices, commercial banks, markets and schools were closed in the state capital in observance of the work-free day earlier declared by the state government in honour of the victims.

    Governor Samuel Ortom had also declared three days of mourning for the victims of the attacks on communities in Logo and Guma Local Government Areas of the state.

    Some of the residents expressed worries over the incessant attacks on farmers in the state and said that the acts were unhealthy for an agrarian state like Benue.

    They told the News Agency of Nigeria that there was need for peace to reign for the growth and development of the state.

    Thomas Shima said that all hands must be on deck to address the crises, adding, “we are mourning today; we still don’t know tomorrow.”

    Mr. Shima appealed to the Federal Government to tackle the security challenges in the country more vigorously.

    Blessing Okoh noted that only God and the federal government could stop the killings and called for more prayers for the state and the nation.

     

    (NAN)

     

  • Benue massacre: Buhari, IGP ignored our calls for help – Ortom

    …as Benue State Government organises mass burial for victims today

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has accused President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector General of Police of not responding to distress calls and letters sent to them to help avert the looming danger that eventually claimed over sixty lives in the state on January 1 (New Year Day).

    Recall that over 50 persons were gunned down by unknown assailants that invaded five villages in Guma and Logo Local Governments on New Year day. Several others were injured while about 50,000 persons were displaced.

    The state government has however finalise plans to bury the victims on Thursday.

    The governor announced government’s decision to hold a mass burial for the deceased at a stakeholders meeting in Makurdi on Wednesday.

    The meeting focused on insecurity in the state and the way forward.

    Mr. Ortom, who called for prayers, said that the deceased would be remembered for sacrificing their lives to protect Benue farmlands.

    He appealed for calm during the burial, and cautioned Benue residents against reprisal attacks against anyone.

    Mr. Ortom vowed to ensure that the attackers were apprehended, and promised government’s support to the security agencies to actualise that.

    Mr. Ortom also said security agencies did not take proactive measures to protect the state against its aggressors after several complaints of planned attacks reported to them.

    “I saw the attacks coming and we wrote several letters of complaint to the police and complained to the presidency, yet nothing happened.

    “We called for the arrest of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) but nobody responded; we have facts that can be used against them.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and top police officers including the DIG operations, Habila Joshak, two commissioners of police for Benue and Nasarawa states were in attendance.

    The governor expressed regret that after repeated complaints to the police and other security agencies in the country on the threats of attacks by MACBAN, nothing was done to secure lives and property in the state.

    “We called for the arrest of leaders of the association; we had evidence to support our claims but nobody paid heed to us.

    “We wrote to you IGP three times but received no response. We briefed the presidency yet to no avail,” he lamented.

    Mr. Ortom said the refusal of the security agencies to act and their lackadaisical attitude on the matter led to the mayhem of January 1.

    He wondered why open statements of intended aggression against the state on national television, radio stations by members of the association had not been investigated and arrests effected.

    He vowed to continue with the anti-open grazing law, stressing “there is no land in Benue for open grazing”.

    Mr. Ortom said he would not adopt the cattle colonies as suggested by the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh.

    He appealed to the IGP to immediately order for the arrest of leaders of MACBAN to give hope to the ordinary citizens that all people were equal before the law.

    The governor said that the herdsmen that attacked the state came from their bases in Nasarawa State and challenged the police to refute his claims.

    Responding, the IGP said he had not received such letters of complaints from the governor but promised to investigate the claims and fish out the aggressors.

    He said the police had deployed 663 police operatives and created 10 mobile units to deal with the insecurity in the state.

    Mr. Idris said the police would deploy helicopter surveillance to monitor the movement of such miscreants across the state and pledged to be diligent in discharging the presidential assignment.

    He explained that the situation was not yet beyond the capacity of the police, stressing “there is no need for the army to be invited”.

    Other speakers at the meeting include the Tor Tiv, James Ayatse, who called on the IGP to ensure the arrest of the aggressors.

    They rejected the suggestion for the establishment of cattle colonies in the state and affirmed their support for the implementation of the anti-open grazing law.

    They also called on the federal government to commence the process of establishing ranches across the country as a panacea to farmers/herders clashes.

    The high point of the meeting was the open apology by the IGP for describing the Benue killings as “communal clashes”, following insistence from participants.

    Mr. Idris also reiterated the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators of the killings.

    The police boss said the meeting was geared toward finding lasting solution to the crisis that bedevilled some communities of the state.

    He said police would not rest until the perpetrators of the killings were arrested.

    He added that “I want to assure you that the police will not rest on its oars until these hoodlums are apprehended and brought to justice.

    “We are conducting investigation into the killings and will take appropriate action against perpetrators of the heinous crime.

    “I want to assure you that police have put in place security measures to checkmate activities of miscreants.”

    Mr. Idris also promised to take appropriate action against anyone carrying arms around.

    He enjoined the people to give the police actionable intelligence that would lead to further arrest of criminal elements.

    The police chief, who kicked against the clamour for deployment of the military, said they could only intervene when the police was overwhelmed.

  • Benue, Rivers massacres: Presidency slams critics, says Buhari not in support of killings

    The Presidency on Tuesday warned critics attributing the recent killings in Benue and some other parts of the country to President Muhammadu Buhari’s support to desist as the president is always committed to the safety of lives and properties of Nigerians irrespective of religion or region.

    Several concerned citizens and stakeholders have accused the president of complacency in the killings that have cost hundreds of lives in the last two years.

    This was revealed in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

    Shehu noted that the president was “conscious of his duty to Nigerians, not least because he is held accountable for everything that goes wrong”.

    “He deeply sympathizes with the families and all the other direct and indirect victims of this violence. He is determined to bring it to a permanent end,” the statement said.

    Read the full statement:

    To find short term and long term solutions to frequent conflicts between farmers and cattle rearers, the Presidency is coming up with a conference of stakeholders on infrastructural and agricultural development to put in place a plan for immediate relief and long term plan for the expansion of agriculture in the country.

    The conference will tap into experiences and best practices to draw up a planned development 20-30 years ahead based on population and development projections and will take into consideration environmental impacts.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has been concerned about these conflicts each time he received those very gruesome pictures of mayhem from several parts of the country, especially as it affected Benue and neighbouring states. He is equally worried about some public pronouncements and finger-pointing that are, in most cases very unhelpful to peaceful coexistence of our diverse peoples.

    The President is conscious of his duty to Nigerians, not least because he is held accountable for everything that goes wrong. He deeply sympathizes with the families and all the other direct and indirect victims of this violence. He is determined to bring it to a permanent end.

    While there are many Nigerians who see the conflict between the nomadic herdsmen and peasant farmers as an ethnic problem, others point to religious differences and agenda. The President does not subscribe to such simplistic reductionism.

    President Buhari holds the view, as do many experts, that these conflicts are more often than not, as a result of major demographic changes in Nigeria. When Nigeria attained independence, the population of the country was estimated at about 63,000,000. Today the population is estimated at close to 200,000,000; while the land size has not changed and will not change. Urban sprawl and development have simply reduced land area both for peasant farming and cattle grazing.

    It is therefore both unfair and unkind, for anyone to keep insinuating that the President is condoning the spate of killings in Benue and other neighboring States.

    President Buhari has publicly condemned the violence at every turn. He is prepared to permit every possible step that can lead to the stoppage of the killings. It is on account of this he brushed aside an opinion that the federal government should challenge the constitutionality of the anti-open grazing bill. He wanted to give a chance to the State government to succeed in stopping the senseless killings.

    It will be recalled that as he did in dealing with the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria, which required sustained action from the government before it was finally curtailed, President Buhari gave the relevant mandates to the country’s security agencies to put a stop to the Benue killings.

    The killings must stop and the security agencies have the President’s support to do this as quickly as possible.

    Whipping up hate may captivate the public and score political points on social media, but it will not bring an end to the crisis. Let every stakeholder instead sit down with the government and security forces and carry everyone along in finding an all-embracing solution.

    As a father, a military General and a statesman, President Buhari has maintained lasting relationships with Nigerians, Muslims and Christians among every ethnic group. It is also a known fact that the young people who trek the whole distance of thousands of kilometers tending the cattle do not own the cattle. In fact many of the cattle are not owned by Fulanis or Muslims. The point is that it is too simplistic to see the conflict as ethnic or religious.

    The President seeks the support and cooperation of all citizens and the media in particular, to join hands with his administration to find permanent solutions and not to aggravate or escalate tensions in all conflict areas of the country.

     

  • Benue, Rivers Massacres: SERAP urges UN to convene, defend helpless Nigerians

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an urgent appeal to Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urging him to use his leadership position to “urgently call and/or facilitate the holding of a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to address persistent killings apparently by herdsmen in Benue State of Nigeria and other parts of the country.”

    The organization also urged Prince Al Hussein to “speak out strongly and condemn the killings apparently by herdsmen in the country, and make an official visit to Nigeria with special rapporteurs with relevant mandates to discuss the killings and concrete actions to end the killings and ultimately bring about significant improvements in the lives of farmers and their families as well as other citizens affected by violence across the country.”

    In an urgent appeal dated 6 January 2018 and signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organization said, “The UN Human Rights Council’s ability to successfully expose and hold perpetrators of human rights violations to account may be under threat if your office continues to ignore or pay little attention to the crimes and abuses apparently by herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators in Nigeria.”

    The organization said, “While we acknowledge that the council has made significant contributions to human rights elsewhere, we are concerned that the violence and killings in Nigeria rarely attract the attention of the UN and particularly, your office. It is time for your office to speak out strongly against the continuing killings by herdsmen in Nigeria for the sake of thousands of victims and their families who continue to lack access to an effective remedy, including truth, justice and full and effective reparation.”

    Suspected herdsmen yesterday killed at least 11 persons in a fresh attack on Tombu village in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State. This followed the alleged killing earlier in the week of at least 33 people apparently by herdsmen in the State.

    The urgent appeal read in part: “The killings in Benue State of Nigeria and the distressing situation of farmers and their families paint a stark picture of the grave abuses carried out apparently by herdsmen and the impunity that they continue to enjoy. The actions of herdsmen hinder meaningful progress towards stability, development and peace in the country.”

    “We also urge your office to facilitate the process of creating a commission of inquiry to investigate killings by herdsmen in Nigeria, and to uncover, name and shame cow owners that hire the herdsmen, as such owners may be criminally complicit in the killings. The involvement of your office will ensure solid investigations into the alleged killings, and help draw international attention to the problem, which in turn will go a long way in putting pressure on the Nigerian authorities to take concrete and meaningful steps to end the killings and bring suspected perpetrators to justice.”

    “SERAP notes that the Human Rights Council was created in 2006 to replace the failed UN Commission on Human Rights, which had largely been unwilling to address real human rights concerns in deserving countries.”

    “The council needs to be vigilant to avoid the problems that plagued its predecessor, including a loss of relevance from failing to speak out on human rights violations and abuses in deserving countries, such as Nigeria. We urge your office to seek full respect for the right to life, to personal security and dignity, to property, and other human rights of farmers and other Nigerians, consistent with the international human rights standards your office has sworn to uphold.”

    “Nigeria is a member of the Human Rights Council, and has ratified several UN human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Nigeria has also ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which has in fact become part of the national laws.”

    “The Human Rights Council cannot be silent when innocent citizens are caught up in violence such as the one going on in Benue State. The international community must strive to deliver justice to victims of human rights violations and abuses wherever they occur and ensure that those found to be responsible for such crimes are brought to justice.”

    “SERAP strongly believes that the holding of a special session on the violence and killings apparently by herdsmen in Benue State and elsewhere in Nigeria would contribute to a speedy end to the problem, and to peace and greater respect for human rights of farmers and their families as well as other citizens.”

    “The holding of a special session on the killings in Benue State will be consistent with the practice of the Human Rights Council regarding its previous special sessions on the Occupied Palestinian Territories; Lebanon; Darfur; Myanmar; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the Global Food Crisis and the Global Economic and Financial Crises, among others.”


  • Oil companies responsible for Rivers massacre – Wike

    Governor Nyesom Wike has accused the international oil companies of being responsible for the murder of over seventeen (17) people returning home from the cross over service on New Year eve.

    The governor said the oil companies in the state were awarding surveillance contracts to cultists who in turn use the money to buy sophisticated weapons with which they terrorise the communities.

    The 17 were shot dead at Omoku, headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area allegedly by cultists.

    The governor who spoke while receiving Interior Minister Abdulrahman Danbazzau claimed that the security agencies knew the cult kingpins terrorizing the residents.

    “The security agencies have the profiles of all cult kingpins in different parts of the state and they know their locations,” he said.

    He accused Police Inspector general Ibrahim Idris of failing to heed several requests made by the Rivers government for the deployment of special squads to tackle cultism and kidnapping in the state.

    He added: “There is no wisdom in the politicization of security. Insecurity can affect anybody. You can never know the next victim of insecurity.

    “The peculiar nature of Rivers State requires peculiar intervention.

    “Before now, I have been shouting that we need support to fight crime.”

    The governor attacked politicians whom he said were using the killings to play politics and make false allegations against the state.

    Danbazzau said he was directed by President Muhammadu Buhari to visit the state and assess its security situation because of the killing.

     

  • Northern quit notice: We did not massacre Igbos leaving North – DSS

    The Department of State Services, DSS, has debunked the news making the rounds that some Igbos fleeing the northern part of the country following the quit notice given to them by the Arewa groups were massacred while on their way to the east.

    The DSS however warned Nigerians against hate speech or threatening members of different ethnic groups. A statement by its Spokesperson, Mr. Tony Opuiyo, said that a video purportedly showing the massacre of Igbos was, in reality, the scene of an accident which occurred along the Owo-Akure Road, Ondo State, on March 3, 2016.

    “Those involved in these misleading and despicable acts have since been warned to desist from anything capable of causing disaffection and stoking nationwide tensions.”

    DSS also condemned the quit notice giving to Igbos in the North by Arewa Youths, saying “Such relocation order is not only illegal, but it is strongly viewed to be against the spirit of our Constitution which allows for freedoms of movement and association among others.”

    The DSS also urged Nigerians to Ignore the “persuasions by these tribal jingoists to make our beloved country a theatre of the absurd and bloodletting,” maintaining that it “…will stop at nothing to deploy all resources at its disposal to identify and deal with all those culpable, as well as maintain peace and order in every length and breadth of the nation”.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that prominent Northern youth associations recently issued serious threats to Igbos residing in the region to vacate on or before October 1 (Nigeria’s Independence Day) 2017 or face physical attacks.