Benue State Police Commissioner, Paul Yakadi, yesterday,
said over 5,000 cows accompanied by armed Fulani
herdsmen were occupying part of Agatu local government
area of the state, where about 300 lives were allegedly lost
last week and 7,000 persons displaced.
This came as fresh report indicated that the killing of
villagers had continued unabated despite President
Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that a panel of
investigation into the crisis be established and
announcement of the establishment of an inter-agency
security team to forestall further attacks.
Armed Fulani herdsmen Similarly, Benue State chapter of
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, claimed the killings in
Agatu by suspected Fulani herdsmen weres politically-
motivated because the people of the area “overwhelmingly
voted for Senator David Mark” in the last senatorial re-run
election in Benue South senatorial District.
Yakadi, who led a team of police officers to assess the
besieged communities, confirmed that seven villages,
including Okokolo, Aila, Adagbo, Akwu, Omikuidi,
Ocholonya and Odugbeho had been completely deserted.
He told newsmen at the Command Headquarters in
Makurdi, that the invaders stormed Agatu from Naka in
Gwer West local government area of Benue State, Loco
and Doma in Nasarawa State.
According to him: “The worrisome renewed attack on the
Agatu communities by Fulani herdsmen was as a result of
the alarming influx of the herdsmen into the area through
neighbouring towns of Naka in Gwer West local
government area of Benue State, Loco and Doma of
Nasarawa State, where cattle are made to swim across the
water to Agatu.
The Command, which was on an assessment tour of the
area few days ago to identify areas that security needed to
be beefed up, discovered Fulani herdsmen armed with
sophisticated weapons with their cows numbering over
5,000. “We saw a number of houses that were either burnt
or destroyed and foodstuffs from these areas were looted
and some were burnt.
The team also discovered that the following villages;
Okokolo, Aila, Adagbo, Akwu, Omikuidi, Ocholonya and
Odugbeho were deserted with no trace of persons living
there while three corpses were seen in Aila and Adagbo.”
The Police Commissioner, who claimed the crisis had been
brought under control, said the Police in conjunction with
the state government and other sister security agencies had
made conscious efforts to monitor and forestall further
destruction of lives and properties in the area. Fresh
killings continue Meanwhile, fresh report indicates that
killing villagers in the local government has continued
unabated.
A survivor of the alleged killings, Mr. Ada Ojechi, told
Vanguard that news of Federal and Benue State
governments’ intervention made the villagers to relax and
that many of those who had earlier fled Odugbeho returned
to the village on Sunday.
He said, “As we speak, Odigbeho Agatu has been razed.
The massacre there today had no equal because Odugbeho
is one of the most important and well-populated villages
in Agatu. ”Our people were caught napping because we
relaxed when we heard what we considered the cheering
news that the Federal Government has intervened.
“Unfortunately, the Fulanis knew we had relaxed and took
advantage to unleash a terrible massacre on us. As we
speak, corpses litter everywhere in the village.
Killings politically-motivated Meantime, the state
chairman of PDP, Dr Emmanuel Agbo, has alleged that the
killings in Agatu was politically-motivated because the
people of the area “overwhelmingly voted for Senator
David Mark” in the last re-run senatorial election in Benue
South senatorial District.
Speaking at the PDP headquarters where he led members of
the state executive council on a solidarity visit to the
national chairman of the PDP, Dr Agbo alleged that
despite the widespread killings, the government had
maintained silence.
According to him: “We have witnessed massive attacks on
several communities in Agatu Local government area of
the state that have resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives
and properties worth billions of Naira. We have reason to
believe that this recent attack on the Agatu people was
punishment for their resolve to vote overwhelmingly for
Senator Mark.”
Responding, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, promised that he
would take up the issue with the Inspector General of
Police, noting that the party would not sit by and allow its
members to be intimidated and harassed.
He said: “I am going to site to the inspector General of
Police over the complaints that you have told me. As a
party, I will do everything to ensure that our rights are not
taken for granted. We will follow this issue to its logical
conclusion to make sure that none of our members is
intimidated and harassed.”
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