Gunmen kill 69 in Katsina

At least 69 people have been killed in 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.”