This is not the best of times for the people of Benue State who have been traumatized by attacks from people suspected to be Fulani mercenaries. One of the burnt houses during the crisis From the southern parts of Benue State to the the north-east, the state has suddenly become a threater of war courtesy of the unending bloodbath arising from the incursions by armed mercenaries who camouflage as herdsmen.. The attacks have also left in their trail a huge refugee situation with monumental consequences on the socio-economic life of the people. More pathetic is the situation in Guma local government area where almost the entire local government area has been taken over by the invaders who allegedly launch their attacks from neighbouring Nasarawa State. There is no gainsaying that Benue is certainly in a state of war. There is heightened tension across the state and the state government seemed to have been overwhelmed by the situation. In fact, on Tuesday, Governor Gabriel Suswam got a bitter dose of the crisis when he escaped death by the whiskers after his convoy was ambushed by suspected Fulani mercenaries who engaged his security aides in exchange of gunfire at Tee-Akanyi village in Guma local government area. This came after the invaders had sacked about 200 villages on the Daudu-Gbajimba axis of the council, killing and beheading no fewer than 30 persons whose corpses littered the communities. Suswam had, alongside the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Terhile Ayua, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Adams Audu, soldiers, and other security personnel embarked on an assessment tour of communities recently invaded by the herdsmen on Daudu-Gbajimba Road. On getting to Uikpam-Mbabai, the governor and his entourage discovered that the marauders had attacked and pulled out of the community that very morning, after sacking the police station in the town, burning houses, barns and beheading over 30 persons. The governor and his team were however taken aback when the military personnel on the tour decided to pull out on the grounds that they were not detailed to travel with the team to Gbajimba. The decision of the soldiers did not deter Suswam who insisted on making the trip to Gbajimba which had been cut off from the rest of the local government by the invaders. From that point, majority of those on the entourage were overwhelmed by fear. The truth is that majority of the persons on that trip would have opted out but for the courage of the governor which kept everyone going. It was while Suswam’s convoy was heading to Umenger village, about 30kilometers from Daudu, that the team discovered that arms wielding herdsmen with thousands of cattle had taken over all villages on that axis, grazing and looting the property of the locals who had deserted their homes. It became clear to the team they could be walking into a trap as the vast land was in complete control of the stern looking young herders. The entourage ran into attack on Tse-Akenyi village where fire was still raging in several houses in the community, while the attackers continued with the looting of the property of their victims. However, the entourage did not realize that the marauders had taken cover in some of the abandoned houses and bush and, while Suswam alighted from his car and was busy inspecting the destruction in the community, heavy gunfire came from the bush. The rat-a-tat of the gunfire came suddenly, but men of the police and those of the Civil Defense Corps around put up a brave response. Suswam and the Commissioner of Police, Audu, showed uncommon bravery. They stood like battle field commanders and gave orders to security personnel while the gunfire raged. The exchange of gunfire lasted close to one hour. Suswam was shepherded into his official vehicle by security details when the shooting subsided and the entourage drove straight to Gbajimba, where the governor addressed the locals. He lamented the spate of attacks on the people of the state by suspected Fulani herdsmen and assured displaced persons that government would not abandon them. Meantime, on his way back from the assessment tour, Suswam picked the remains of some beheaded victims to the mortuary in Makurdi, the state capital. The following day, the governor, accompanied by the state Commissioner of Police, paid a visit to Anyii and Ayilamo in Logo local government which had also been invaded by marauders.. Anyii is Suswan’s home town; the community had been sacked by suspected Fulani mercenaries who invaded the communites after crossing River Benue from Nasarawa State. Death in farms The invaders slaughtered over 22 persons. The governor was moved to tears when he saw that his village had been sacked and deserted. From Anyii to Ayilamo, a stretch of about 25 kilometers, all the inhabitants of the close to 29 village had been sacked by suspected herdsmen who struck less than 24 hours before the governor’s visit. One of the fleeing locals, who gave his name as James Terzungwe, recounted their experience to Sunday Vanguard. “They came from Nasarawa State after crossing River Benue which separates the bordering communities of Benue and Nasarawa,” he stated. “They stormed our communities in their hundreds, when people were already in their farms. That was why many of the people were killed because they were caught up in the farms where it was very difficult for them to escape or jointly defend themselves. “That attack left over 22 of our people dead. Those are the ones we have seen, many are still missing and nobody knows about their condition because we gathered that so many corpses are still in the farms and the bush near the river, but no one can go near there for now because the Fulani have completely taken over those areas,” he said. While addressing the displaced persons at Ayilamo, Suswam, who urged them to be security conscious, assured them that government was partnering the Federal Government to ensure that the crisis was brought to an end. The Governor also promised to establish displaced persons camps in parts of the state to cater for the Internally Displaced Person, IDPs, in areas affected by the crisis. Meantime, Governor Tanko Al’Makura of Nasarawa State paid a visit to his Benue State counterpart, Suswam, on Thursday, to commisserate with him on the attack. He stated that the invaders couldn’t have come from his state. Al’Makura stated that though Nasarawa borders Benue, “herdsmen pass through from the South and the North and the natural direction must be Nasarawa.” The governor went on: “And it is so unfortunate that at the point at which these people are passing, there is a section in Nasarawa that is close to three states. There is a particular local government in Nasarawa that has boundaries with Plateau, Benue and Taraba and there is a large expanse of land where there is no road. “So it is not easy or practicable that the movement of these nomads in the wilderness can be monitored except if we have an aerial survellance to track them and know where they are settled. “And another thing is that we in
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 15:55:41 +0000
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