Herdsmen killings at agatu, teenagers and small children protect themselves with arms

– Violence blamed on Fulani herdsmen gave Nigeria’s government another security headache in addition to Boko Haram 

– James Ochoche Edoh, the community leader, said that more than 20 Agatu villages were affected near the river Benue that forms the border with Nasarawa

– He noted that despite the presence of troops, people are still afraid and gather at one place for better protection

 Teenagers and even small kids carry machetes and daggers to protect their lives

Blessing Joseph is a 19-year-old student who is living in a remote village in the Agatu area of Benue state.

As other teenagers who

Leave Benue to avoid reprisal attack, Ortom tells killer herdsmen

Gov offers N5m for information on kidnapped priest

Perturbed by the recurring attacks on farmers in Benue State by suspected Fulani herdsmen, the state governor, Samuel Ortom, has asked them to vacate the state to avoid reprisal attack from the people.

Ortom’s said this yesterday while answering questions from journalists on the attack by herdsmen on Agwabi village in Binev council ward of Buruku local council last weekend where about 10 persons were reportedly killed.

Ortom, speaking in an emotion-laden voice, stated that the state is under siege, stressing that the herdsmen have virtually taken over all the lands in the state. He said it is time to stop the daily killings of his people.

“It is a bad situation now, everyday you hear my people are being killed, maimed, and raped by these mercenaries; they do not have respect for rule of law or regard for security personnel.

“These are wicked mercenaries under the guise of herdsmen attacking us and taking over our farmlands. I have said it several times that we do not have land for grazing in the state, let them move out of the state,” he maintained.

According to the governor: “There is a limit to which I can appeal to my people to restrain themselves from reprisal attack, if all of them are killed then I will be the next target. The problem is that if you push them away from one point they move to another point and their aim is to kill, destroy their farmlands and take over the lands.”

When answering questions on the allegation by herders that youths in the state are rustling their cows, Ortom debunked the claim, saying: “It is the criminal elements among the herdsmen themselves that always go and steal their brother’s cows.” He, however, wondered if rustling of cows was commensurate with human life.

Meanwhile, Governor Ortom has offered to pay N5 million for information on the whereabouts of Very Reverend Father John Adeyi, the Vicar General of Otukpo Catholic Diocese who was abducted recently.

Ortom, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and ICT, Mr. Tahav Agerzua, said it was regrettable that one month after the unfortunate incident, security agents were yet to apprehend the culprits and rescue the priest.

He said any person or group who offers such information would be paid N5 million as reward.

He said security agents have acted on previous information and combed several places without positive results, hence the imperative of making the offer.

Also in the statement, the governor expressed sympathy with the family of the late General Gabriel Kpamber (rtd) who lost his life in a fatal motor accident at the weekend on Makurdi-Gboko road.

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Fulani invasion; ortom weeps openly, says Benue State is under siege

Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom has revealed that death toll in last Friday night’s attack on Tarfi village, Binnev Ward in Buruku Local Government area of the state by suspected herdsmen had risen to over 60.

They were allegedly killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

The governor, who wept openly lamented that the state was under siege.

According to him, his government was helpless and could not contain the activities of the herdsmen, who he said were killing, maiming and raping women in Benue villages.

Ortom said, “after committing the atrocities, they sacked the locals from their abode after which they occupied the ‘captured territory’.”

Ortom said he had continually restrained the people from carrying out reprisal attacks on the marauders, but cautioned that the people might resort to self help if security agencies could not prevent the massacre of the innocent farmers.

He said, “It is a bad situation, everyday you hear how my people are being killed, raped and maimed by these mercenaries. They do not have respect for the rule of law or security personnel. The situation has gotten to a point where if we contain the crisis in one community, they move quickly to another to massacre the people just like the Buruku case where over 60 innocent persons have been killed.

“These are wicked mercenaries under the guise of herdsmen attacking us and taking over our farmland. I have said it several times that we do not have land for grazing in the state, let them move out of the state if they cannot respect the rule of law and the sanctity of human lives.

“There is a limit to which I can appeal to my people to restrain themselves from reprisal attacks, if all of them are killed then I might be the next target. I will have to represent the matter to the President because we are helpless and if nothing urgent is done we might have a major crisis in our hands.”

The Governor, who refuted the allegations that the crisis was sparked by rustlers in the affected communities said, “those behind cow rustling are the herdsmen themselves because they are the only ones that speak the language that cows understand. For instance, even at my village in Gums they claimed that my people rustled their cows and they went ahead to kill 50 of my people and took over the land. This is genocide. Enough of these killings.”

Fulani herdsmen killed villagers because Tiv youths stole 800 cows – MACBAN

The Myetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, has blamed last weekend’s bloody attack by Fulani herdsmen on Tiv youths in a community in Buruku Local Government Area of Benue State, who the herdsmen accused of carting away 800 cows.

The Benue State Police Command is reported to have confirmed that five people were killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Friday night who invaded Agwabi village in Binev Council Ward in Buruku Local Government Area of the state.

But giving reasons for the attack, the MACBAN spokesman, Garus Gololo said information gathered from his kinsmen in the troubled Buruku area has it that trouble started when youths from the affected village last Thursday carried away 800 cows belonging to the resident herders.

According to Gololo, “they (herders) traced the missing cows the following day to that village and that was how trouble started.”

“This is highly regrettable because they should have notified the security apparatus already put in place by the state government who could have handled the matter. They didn’t report the matter even to us (MACBAN).

“It is painful that while the state government is doing everything to resolve the crisis, some others are taking the law into their hands. But, those found wanting in this matter would surely be handed over to the security agencies,” he said.

Read also;

2Baba, TerryG take action on Agatu killing by herdsmen, what they plan to do is touching

– 2Baba and TerryG from Benue state wade into Agatu killings

– Other Nigerian artists are expected to partake in the event

Top Nigerian artists from the Idoma enclave have decided to wade into the Agatu/Fulani herdsmen war in Benue state.

These entertainers include Innocent Ujah Idibia, better known as 2baba, Austine Garuba Ahmedu, also known as Blackface, TerryG, Bongos Ikwue as well as Imelda J.

Terry G and 2Baba

Others are, gospel music crooners, Chris Morgan, Steve Crown, KingJames, MadMo, Noella, SixfootPlus, Naomee Da Diva, Oche.com, Favour Johnson, and Tony Treasure.

These entertainers would on Sunday, May 22 lead other celebrities in the country to Abuja for an event tagged: ‘Agatu Peace Concert’.

READ ALSO: On Tiwa Savage’s marriage crisis, 2Baba expresses disgust

Nollywood stars such as Desmond Elliot, now a lawmaker in Lagos state, Uti Nwachukwu, Adah Ameh, Susan Peters and several others would also grace the event aimed at drawing the attention of the relevant authorities as well as the international community to Agatu and other villages ravaged by Fulani herdsmen.

A statement made available to Naij.com by the Idoma Initiative, orgainisers of the event, noted that the peace concert would be used to raise funds to rehabilitate the internally displaced persons across the communities.

Secretary general of the group, John Wayne, said the event will hold at the prestigious Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, the nation’s capital.

“We want to use the concert to further draw the attention of the international community to the sufferings of our people back home in Agatu and other villages razed by Fulani herdsmen.

“After the protest which shook the nation, we felt there was a need for us to organise a concert to create further awareness.

“Our people have been rendered homeless. Our crops have been destroyed by these cattle breeders. Our children are dying. Agatu is a ghost of itself.

“The peace concert would be used to generate funds for the victims of Agatu crisis,” Wayne said.

Invited guests include senior pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Paul Enenche; former Senate president David Mark; minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh and other prominent Idoma citizens.

While speaking at a forum organized for single parents at her husband’s church, Royalty Christian Center, Sunmbo said she had not really worried about the situation, because she had known before it happened.