simultenous attacks on four villages in
Katsina State.
Witnesses said the attackers, believed
to be Fulani herdsmen, rode
motorcycles into the villages –
Mararaban Maigoro, Goran Mota and
Ungwan Rimi – in broad daylight on
Wednesday and killed whoever they
found.
A lawmaker from the state, Abdullahi
Machika, told both the Agence France
Presse and the British Broadcasting
Corporation that 47 of the victims were
murdered and buried in Mararraban
Maigoro.
Machika added that seven were buried
in Goran Mota, seven in Ungwan Rimi
and eight in Maigoro.
Machika said, "As I speak, we are still
searching for dead bodies in the bushes.
The attackers were not thieves but
killers. They did not steal anything; they
came to kill people. The people, who
looked like Fulani herdsmen killed 69
villagers and burnt scores of houses
between Tuesday and Wednesday.
"This (Thursday) morning, we picked
dead bodies in Faskari forest. In
Mararaban Maigoro, we buried 47
people. In Goran Mota, we buried seven
people and in Ungwan Rimi, we buried
seven people. And in Maigoro, we
buried eight people. Like I told you, we
are still searching for more bodies.
"For over one year, we have been
talking; people are saying it is about
stealing and I am telling you it is pure
killing . It is almost the same thing that
started in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa
states. There was no response from the
police authorities as they were busy
providing for President Goodluck
Jonathan's visit."
But the state's Police Commissioner,
Hurdi Mohammed, who also confirmed
the attacks, gave a lower casualty toll of
30.
He also said the violence was not
perpetrated by Boko Haram insurgents
but by Fulani herdsmen, who had
been blamed for scores of deadly raids
in the past.
The latest incident took place barely
24 hours after Fulani cattle rustlers
attacked the convoy of the Benue State
Governor, Gabriel Suswam, in Tse-
Akenyi.
Suswam was on a fact-finding mission
following the continuous invasion of
many communities on the Daudu-
Gbajimba road by herdsmen.
Fulani leaders have for years
complained about the loss of grazing
land which is crucial to their livelihood,
with resentment between the
herdsmen and their agrarian neighbours
rising over the past decade.
Most of the Fulani-linked violence has
been concentrated in the North-
Central, where rivalries between mostly
Muslim herdsmen and mostly Christian
farmers have helped fuel violence.
• Jonathan gives military marching
order
President Goodluck Jonathan on
Thursday ordered the military high
command to deploy troops in Rugu
Forest with a view to dislodging the
killers.
He said a situation where insurgents had
turned the forest which was initially
meant for economic purposes, to their
hideouts was not acceptable to his
government.
Jonathan gave the order during a dinner
organised in his honour by the state
government as part of activities outlined
for his two-day official visit to the state.
He said men of the Nigerian Armed
Forces must comb the forest thoroughly
and rid it of insurgents.
According to him, the forest borders
states like Katsina, Zamfara, Niger,
Kaduna and the neighbouring Niger
Republic.
The President said, "It is unfortunate
that the forest meant for economic
purposes has been turned to a hideout
and haven for insurgents who are
launching attacks on Katsina and other
Northern states. This situation must not
be allowed to continue. So men of the
armed forces must comb the forest and
dislodge the insurgents."
Jonathan also directed the National
Emergency Management Agency to
ensure swift provision of relief materials
for victims in the affected communities.
• IG deploys DIG in Benue
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of
Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has
directed the Deputy Inspector-General
of Police in charge of Operations at the
Force Headquarters, Mr. Mike
Zuokumor, to personally coordinate
security measures aimed at ending
the killings and destruction of property
by cattle rustlers in Benue State.
Zuokumor will be assisted by the
Commissioner of Police in charge of the
Mobile Police, Mr. Hosea Karma, and
his counterpart in charge of counter-
terrorism, Mr. Wakama.
The Deputy Force Public Relations
Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, made this
known to journalists at a press
conference by the Joint Security
Information Managers Committee on
Security in Abuja on Thursday.
Mba also said the police authorities
had also ensured the deployment of
huge human and material resources to
the troubled state.
He added that the police were
expected to collaborate with the
military and other security agencies in
bringing the state's security challenge
under permanent control very soon.
According to him, the security operation
in the state would involve aerial
surveillance and massive intelligence
gathering.
He said, "You are witnesses to the
current state of challenges we have
been recording in Benue.
"I want to reassure the nation,
particularly the good people and
government of Benue State, that the
Federal Government is working through
the instrumentality of the military, the
police and other security agencies to
bring that situation under permanent
control.
"As I speak to you, the Police High
Command has already deployed
massive manpower and resources in
Benue State.
"The operation, of course under the
direct instruction of the IG, is being
coordinated by the Deputy Inspector-
General of Police in charge of
Operations, Mr. Mike Zuokumor, who is
leading a team of other seasoned
operational officers to Benue State.
"In his team, we also have the CP in
charge of the Police Mobile Force, CP
Hosea Karma, the CP in charge of the
Counter-Terrorism Unit, Wakama, and
other very senior officers from the
operational units.
"Special Forces from the Police Mobile
Force, the Counter-Terrorism Unit and
the Special Protection Unit are already
on the ground; and as I speak to you,
the DIG is already on the ground in
Benue State.
"We will also be carrying out aerial
patrols in Benue.This is designed to
actually help in boosting the confidence
of the citizens and also providing
massive intelligence for the ground
troops.
"We would be working in collaboration
with our counterparts from the military
and other security agencies."
The Director of Defence Information,
Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, who heads
the committee, said the military was
determined to sustain the recorded
victory against Boko Haram insurgents
in the North-East.
He said that ongoing reorganisation in
the Army was designed to ensure that
the insurgents were prevented from
regrouping.
Fulani herdsmen under the umbrella of
Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders
Association had claimed that they lost
134 of their colleagues and 11,925 cows
to clashes in the past three months.
They had blamed Suswam for inciting
the people against them in Benue,
Taraba and Plateau states.
• Allegation against me baseless –
Suswam
But Suswam described the allegation
by the herdsmen as baseless.
The governor said this while receiving
his Nasarawa State counterpart, Tanko
Al-makura, who was in Makurdi, on a
solidarity visit on Thursday.
The Director of Press to the governor,
Dr. Cletus Akwaya, told one of our
correspondents in a telephone
interview, that Suswam would never do
anything to undermine the state.
He said, "The allegation (by Miyyeti
Allah) is baseless. The likes of Hussaini
Bosso (the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders
Association chairman), fan the embers
of violence with their comments.
"The governor, as the chief security
officer, has been doing everything to
make sure that there is peace in the
state. These attacks are not limited to
one local government area of the state,
they have attacked several places.
"If the people here were killing their
cows, it would have been all over the
press which you know is not owned by
the Benue State Government.
"The governor said 'such people should
be investigated by security agencies
because he (Bosso) seems to know
much more.' He mentioned that it was
the governor, who was sponsoring the
conflict.
"It means that he has information about
the sponsorship; he should come
forward with evidence and help the
security agencies."
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