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…Vows to go tough on criminal herdsmen
…We need to establish our own Amotekun now – PANDEF, IYC, others …Fish out killers, Gov Okowa tasks security agencies
…Families of slain victims lament killing
…Want herdsmen chased out of their communities
Delta State Police Commissioner, Hafiz Inuwa, yesterday,
admitted that the police received six exhumed corpses of eight of farmers
allegedly killed by herdsmen at Uwheru in Ughelli North Local Government Area
of Delta State. The community had, in conjunction with some security men,
exhumed the six corpses on Monday, hours after two of the burnt corpses of the
victims were exhumed on Sunday by representatives of the community.
This is even as stakeholders in the Niger Delta, including
the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, clerics and civil
society organisations, among others, yesterday, called for establishment of a
regional security network, similar to Amotekun being formed by South-West
governors, to checkmate the activities of herdsmen and other criminals.
These came on a day the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa,
charged security agents to fish out killers of the eight victims, as families
of the victims lamented the inability of the police and other security agencies
to protect their loved ones from killer herdsmen. Recall that the police
commissioner and the community had been locked in a war of words, prior to the
recovery of the corpses. While the Police Commissioner said the incident didn’t
happen, the community produced evidence with the corpses of those killed in
their farms by the herdsmen. But speaking with Vanguard, yesterday, the
Commissioner of Police, who confirmed the report in a telephone chat with our
correspondent in Warri, said the corpses were brought to Ughelli Police Station
by some persons who claimed the corpses were victims of the attack between the
community and suspected herdsmen. It was reported that a team of security
personnel and members of the community discovered the shallow grave on Monday
while searching for the bodies of the victims allegedly killed by the
arms-wielding herdsmen operating in the area. The CP said: “Yes, six bodies
that were exhumed by some people were brought to our Police station in Ughelli.
We were not there when they exhumed the corpses. We are investigating the
matter because they alleged that the bodies were those of the people that were
killed during the herders/farmers clash at Uwheru communities. “It is the
investigation that will tell us who killed them, who buried them, when they
were buried, who exhumed them and what have you. “This is an issue of national
security. If we discovered that there are some criminals who come here in the
guise of herders or farmers to foment trouble, we will deal with them
ruthlessly.” CP Inuwa noted that the police had been interfacing with the
committee set up by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on herders/farmers interface that
had been handling issues between herders and farmers so that there will be
peace in the state. He said: “I still stand by what I said then that we
did not recover any corpse. It is what we see that we will report. “There was
no recovery of any corpse the first day of the clash. But I am admitting this
six corpses because they were brought to us by some people who said they
exhumed them from the communities where the clash between them and herdsmen
took place.”
Call for security outfit
The killings, yesterday, propelled agitation for the establishment of a regional security network in the South-South by stakeholders. The stakeholders stressed the need for governors in the region to come together to set up a regional security outfit to protect and secure the lives of citizens in the wake of the rising cases of herdsmen pillaging of agrarian communities in the zone and killing of defenceless farmers. Chairman of Bayelsa State chapter of PANDEF, Chief Thompson Okorotie, said: “As far as I am concerned, we need to establish our own Amotekun because the South-South has been suffering quite a lot. ‘’I know that individual state governments have been doing one or two things to douse tension by setting up committees to manage their (herdsmen) coming. Remember the one that was done in this state, where a multi-ethnic committee was set up and it involved all the security forces, including the civil defence. “I remember that in that effort, they saw it as a business. When you bring your cattle, you pay for the cattle. You do your business at a designated area and you go back, that was the arrangement. ‘’Other states too have their methods. But I think the South-South states should get together and look at a regional arrangement and the states will complement one another with intelligence information and strategy. ‘’The zone should get together to bring about an establishment that will ensure our security and protection, it’s a matter of urgent necessity.” Also speaking, Mr Iniruo Wills, President, Ijaw Professionals Association (Homeland Chapter), comprising Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers, said: “It is time for the governors and legislative representatives of the region to convene a Niger Delta action summit on security. “On the national level, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council should declare from now till the end of March or April as a period of emergency attention and action for national security, and make it the top item for deliberation, decision making and implementation. “For example, the leadership of the National Assembly should stop making soapbox speeches on security and swing into very intensive engagements with security chiefs and if the results remain as utterly unsatisfactory as they are now to the entire Nigerian populace, the National Assembly should impress on the President to shake up the system immediately for better results. ‘’Also, the National Assembly leadership should go on a region-by-region critical stakeholder consultation series on security across the country during the same period. Security still appears to be a mere talking point to the Executive and the National Assembly, rather than a matter for urgent deep thinking and action. When they get serious about it, we will all know.”
Regional security outfit inevitable — IYC
Similarly, Eric Omare, President, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, worldwide, said the
recent attack on Uwheru community by herdsmen has again brought to the front
burner the need to have a community- based regional security apparatus,
considering the failure of the conventional security outfits to protect the
people. He said: “I personally ran into the conflict on Saturday, February 15,
2020, while I was going to Bomadi town from Warri. The youths of the community
alleged that the herdsmen were aided in the attack by uniform men.
‘’Whether the uniformed men were impostors or of the Nigerian
Army, I cannot confirm the exact position but the fact which is obvious is that
our people are defenceless and deserve protection by the government. “A
situation where some persons with murderous instinct just wake up and kill
innocent Nigerians is unacceptable. We have had enough of an attack on our
people and the time to act is now. “In the absence of South-South governments
taking actions to come up with the community and regional-based security
outfits, I call on Ethnic Nationality leaders in the South-South to mobilize
their people to defend their communities. Also reacting yesterday, the
Chairman, Cross Rivers State chapter of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN,
Dr Lawrence Ekwok, said: ‘’We, in PFN in Cross River State, have been
consistent in calling for the arrest and disarming of any herdsman found with
arms. ‘’Claims that the herdsmen carry arms to protect themselves and their
cattle are misleading and wicked. We rarely hear of herdsmen being killed yet
on a regular basis, we are inundated with sad tales of men, women, children
being killed and property destroyed. This must stop and any herdsman who kills
should be arrested and tried.
No one has licence to kill — Anglican Archbishop
In his reaction, Anglican Archbishop of
Calabar, Bishop Tunde Adeleye, said: ‘’There is nowhere in the world
anyone has the license to kill or maim another with impunity but the herdsmen
in Nigeria. ‘’If Nigeria must know peace, herdsmen’s killing must be stopped.
We know there are people behind them but these people must know that human life
is sacred and no one has the right to take that of another person. ‘’We hear
hot words coming from Miyetti Allah on the rights of herdsmen to graze their
cattle anywhere but they should know that communities own those lands and
killing owners of the land just because you have powerful backers is against
God and humanity.’’ National Chairman, Urhobo Nationalist Movement, Alhaji
Mumakai Unaghan, in his statement, also called on Delta State government to set
up community policing mechanism to help secure communities in the state, alleging
that suspected security men aided the activities of the killer herdsmen. His
words: “With pain and grief, the Urhobo Nationalist Movement heard of the
brutal murder of farmers in UHWERU by Herdsman aided by men in Nigeria Military
uniform in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta. ‘’I want to, on behalf
of the Urhobo Nationalist Movement, condemn the gruesome murder of the innocent
farmers who went to their farms to fend for themselves and their children.
‘’This is a heinous crime which the Federal Government must investigate. Even
in the North East ravaged by Boko Haram, the situation in UHWERU is more
pathetic. ‘’The herdsmen alone couldn’t have done the havoc if not aided by men
in military uniform. They invaded the peaceful community and harmless civilians
in their quiet homes. The Federal Government should investigate the killings
and bring the culprits to book.”
Other reactions Reacting in a similar manner, the President,
Centre for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusade, CHURAC, Alaowei E. Cleric,
said: ‘’It has got to an alarming dimension the rate at which Fulani herdsmen
are perpetrating violence against their host communities. ‘’The recent attack
on Delta communities in Ughelli North LGA is condemnable. This is one attack
too many. There is no doubt that the present government at the centre has
failed in its primary responsibility of securing lives and property. ‘’That is
the reason Nigerians are agitating that the various regions should devise
alternative security measures to protect lives and property. Since the centre
cannot hold any longer, the business of internal security should be given to
the state governments.” Fish out perpetrators, Okowa charges security agents
Meanwhile, Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has charged security agencies
to fish out killers of the eight farmers. He also commended the Nigerian Army
and the Police for their prompt intervention in the clash between the herdsmen
and Uwheru communities. The governor in a statement by his Chief Press
Secretary, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, expressed gratitude for the peace that had been
restored to the communities through the instrumentality of the security
agencies. Okowa, however, said he was saddened by reports of persons, including
security agents, who lost their lives in the attack, restating the confidence
of the state government in the security agencies to rise to security challenges
in the state. He thanked the army authorities for the sustained support to the
state in providing security and protecting public facilities across the state.
While calling on the affected villages in Uwheru to maintain the peace that had
been restored, the governor assured that the security agents would investigate
the cause of the clash and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Families of slain victims lament killings
meanwhile, family members of those killed in
the recent attacks by the herdsmen said, yesterday, they were holding their
peace in anticipation of the decision of the state government. The remains of
the victims were exhumed from the enclaves of the herdsmen inside the bush
after they were killed and buried by the herdsmen who had hitherto, kept the
corpses in their custody. Seven of the victims were identified as Denis Itoje;
Philip Emesharueke, 27; Andrew Useh, 22; Ochuko Ovwanre, 25; Samson Coach
Ogheneoruese, 35; Kotor Boy, 25 and Freeborn Israel, 35. Their relatives had,
yesterday, stormed the mortuary of the Ughelli Central hospital where the
remains of their loved ones were being kept for autopsy and further investigation
by the police. Still grieving, some of the family members were able to summon
the courage to express their emotions to Vanguard as they expressed concern
over the inability of the police and other security agencies to check the
excesses of the armed herdsmen who they alleged had taken over their farmlands.
Elder brother to Philip Emesharueke, Jonathan, said his late brother who
was a father of seven, was killed by the herdsmen, stressing that his immediate
family was currently waiting for the actions of the government on the matter to
know their next line of action. He said: “I was home when I and other members
of my immediate family got the news surrounding the death of my brother.
Initially, we were confused thinking it was a joke because honestly speaking,
it was strange to us, only to later confirm that the news was true and that our
brother has actually been killed by herdsmen. “For now, it is only God that is
consoling us because honestly, I can’t express how I am feeling. My parents
have no option for now than to manage themselves, based on the situation on the
ground.” On his part, Ajomo Joseph identified Andrew Useh as his younger
brother, saying “he is married with two children. I only returned from my place
of residence in Taraba State over this matter. ‘’It is one thing for your loved
ones to be killed and for you to get the corpse for burial but it is another
thing when his assailants after killing him, held on to the corpse deep inside
the bush. “It is not something that I will want to wish even my enemy. ‘’He is
an orphan and now, imagine this kind of ordeal that has befallen him. Now, he
too has been killed, leaving his children who are less than 5 years old
fatherless and his young wife a widow.” For Atlanta Ovwanre, “I have been hearing
of how herdsmen kill people inside the bush, I never knew that one day, this
ordeal will befall my family. But here we are today. If you ask me, I will say
we leave everything for God because right now, there is nothing we can do.”
President General of Uwheru community, Cassidy Akpadafe, while lamenting the
killings, said: “All we need is that the Delta State and Federal Government
should order herdsmen to leave our land completely. ‘’If you add the present
number, over 86 persons have been killed in almost 12 years that herdsmen
took over our farmlands.” Also speaking, Ughelli North council chairman, Godwin
Adode, said: “All I want to say is that the people of Agadama and other
surrounding communities should be careful about the manner they go to their
farms, especially in this trying period because the herdsmen are still very
much in the bush. “Though it is going to have an adverse effect on them, as
they are farmers and fishermen, with their bush taken over by these herdsmen,
what we need from the Federal Government is that that they should help us chase
these herdsmen away and site an army base or a police formation in that area.”
Delta Police vow to go tough on ‘criminal Fulani herdsmen’
THE Delta State Police Command has vowed to go hard on any person or group of
persons fomenting trouble in the state particularly armed herdsmen which
the command described as “criminal Fulani herdsmen.” The state Commissioner of
Police, Hafiz Inuwa, while speaking with Vanguard, yesterday on the heels of
the exhumation of eight persons reportedly killed by armed herdsmen in the
Uwheru community axis of Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state, said
the command was currently investigating the matter to ascertain if the victims
were actually killed during the farmers and herders conflict. He said: “We need
to always see beyond our nose to manage situations. “We are investigating the
matter to know what happened, how it happened, whose corpses were recovered,
whether they were killed during the Fulani herder’s conflict or whether they
were exhumed elsewhere. All these are what we want to know. “For now, there is
no official statement other than the investigations we are doing and trying to
deescalate the situation. We need to always see beyond our noses to
manage the situation so that it will not touch on the security of the state and
the entire nation. “We are still looking for the criminal Fulanis, if we
apprehend them, we are not going to spare them and that is the honest truth. We
have zero-tolerance for criminality and whoever is involved; we are not going
to spare such a person or group of persons. “We will never allow anybody to
come to Delta and foment trouble including Deltans themselves at the same
time.”
Source: Vanguard
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