The Nigeria Police Force said on Friday that its
personnel would enforce all the laws in any state as they concerned the
protection of lives and property.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Jimoh
Moshood, stated this in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, while
speaking on the enforcement of the law on the open grazing ban in Benue State.
Moshood said the police would enforce all the
laws as they pertained to the protection of lives and property.
The police spokesperson noted that the civil authorities
had the right to issue a directive to the security agencies.
The House of Representatives had on Thursday
asked President Muhammadu Buhari to direct security agencies to immediately
begin the enforcement of the Open Grazing (Prohibition) Law in Benue State and
halt the killings by herdsmen.
The House passed the resolution in Abuja as
lawmakers again condemned the latest attacks on villagers in the Okpokwu Local
Government Area of the state where 26 more lives were lost on Monday.
It asked the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim
Idris and heads of other security agencies to implement the anti-open grazing
law in Benue State.
When asked whether or not the police had enforced
the law on open grazing by the Benue State Government as directed by the members
of the House of Representatives, Moshood said, “If they are directing the IG,
they have the constitutional right to give any directive to an agency over
which they have an oversight. Nobody is denying that. They should be the ones
to say whether we have been enforcing the ban or not.
“On our part, the police have been enforcing all
the laws as they concern the protection of lives and property. What I’m telling
you is that the police are bound to enforce all laws (including the ban).
“It is the same people who say they are giving a
directive that can say whether the police have been enforcing the ban or not.”
The Benue State Commissioner of Police, Fatai
Owoseni, could not be reached for comment as of the time of filing this report.
But he had earlier told one of our correspondents
that 44 persons had been arrested for violating the anti-open grazing law in
Benue.
Owoseni had said that the arrests were made by
the military in the course of the operation, which started on February 15,
2018.
He said, “Arrests were made with regards to the
non-compliance to the Open Grazing Prohibition Law of Benue State.
“Forty-four suspects were arrested by the
military in the course of the exercise by the military for violating the law in
the state. The suspects have been arraigned in court and their trial is
ongoing.”
Besides Benue, Taraba State has made a law that
bans open grazing in any part of the state.
The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris,
had at a northern stakeholders summit on security on February 28, advised state
governors to build ranches before banning open grazing.
He had said, “To reduce the incidence of clashes
between farmers and herders in Nigeria, state governments should endeavour to
establish grazing ranches in their various states before enacting laws to
prohibit open rearing and grazing,”
This, he said, would make the law banning open
grazing acceptable by the people.
The IGP, on Wednesday, warned governors to desist
from pushing anti-open grazing laws in their respective states until they had
ranches for livestock in place.
Idris’ comment, which is a reiteration of similar
warnings for which he had been criticised in the past, was delivered at a
security meeting with northern leaders on Wednesday in Kaduna, according to a
police statement.
“To reduce the incidence of clashes between
farmers and herders in Nigeria, state governments should endeavour to establish
grazing ranches in their various states before enacting laws to prohibit open
rearing and grazing,” Idris was quoted as saying in an e-mailed statement from
the Force Headquarters.
The police chief has been an ardent critic of any
legislation that targets herdsmen’s activities across the country, warning that
the best approach towards a peaceful resolution of the farmers-herders crisis
is to work out the modalities for livestock ranching first.
Benue cancels mass burial, prepares for
Buhari’s visit
Meanwhile, the Benue State Government has
cancelled the planned mass burial for victims of Fulani herdsmen attack in
Okpokwu last Monday.
The state governor, Samuel Ortom, had announced
the mass burial for the victims of Fulani herdsmen attack during his visit to
Omusu Edimoga in Okpokwu Local Government Area of the state.
Twenty four persons were said to have been killed
during the attack which left many people injured and several persons missing.
A statement on the Facebook page of the
Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Terver Akase, said, “There wouldn’t be a
mass burial of victims of Fulani herdsmen attacks in Okpokwu.”
No reason was given for the cancellation of the
mass burial which was initially planned for Friday (yesterday).
The statement added that the burial would now
take place next week Thursday.
The statement further said, “A church service
followed by the burial of the victims will take place on Thursday, next week at
Okpokwu.”
Ortom had equally announced the visit of
President Muhammad Buhari to the state on Monday.
Ortom disclosed the planned president’s visit
during the state working committee’s meeting of the All Progressives Congress
on Thursday.
Herdsmen kill 11, torch 50 houses in
Plateau
Over 50 houses were burnt and eleven persons,
including twins, were murdered in the early hours of Friday in two separate
attacks carried out by suspected Fulani herdsmen on two villages in Plateau
State.
President Muhammadu Buhari had barely left
Plateau State when the attacks were launched on Ganda village of Daffo District
in Bokkos Local Government Area and Miango village in Bassa Local Government
Area. The communities were attacked few hours after the inauguration of Plateau
State Peace Building Agency by the President, who was in Jos, the state
capital, on a working visit.
The Spokesperson for the Miango Youth Development
Association, Lawrence Zongo, identified the five persons killed in Miango as
Emmanuel Joseph (16), Christopher Joseph (16), Peace Joseph (6), Henry Audu
(25), Illa Isa Peter (52). Three of them were siblings, out of which two of
them were a set of twins.
He added that Cenka Amos, four, who he said was
seriously injured, was receiving treatment at Enos Hospital, Miango.
He said, “What happened to us is very bad, (it
happened) despite the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari. The state
government has been preaching peace but Plateau State went up in flames. Five
persons, including a set of twins (Emmanuel Joseph and Christopher Joseph) and
their brother, Peace Joseph, were killed.
“We have been devastated and shocked. Despite all
the peace meetings with the Fulani people, the assailants keep killing our
innocent people without provocation. It is sad that the military cannot arrest
the Fulani persons behind the killings. The government has failed in protecting
lives and property of citizens. Our demand is that the perpetrators should be
arrested and prosecuted.”
The National President of Irigwe Development
Association and a former member of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Sunday
Abdu, also confirmed the casualty figure of the Bassa attack, while the
Spokesperson for Bokkos Local Government Area, Jerry Datim, confirmed that of
Ganda.
Abdu said, “Yes, it is true that five people were
killed in Miango by Fulani herdsmen in an attack which took place on Thursday
night and lasted till the early part of Friday. Others were wounded in the
unprovoked attack. The bodies of the five slaughtered people have been
deposited at the hospital morgue. We are no longer in a hurry to bury our dead.
Whenever we are going to bury them, we will let you people know.
“The Fulani herdsmen are killing us but they are
the ones crying. What kind of pretence is that? I still appeal to the security
personnel not to relent, but to step up vigilance and surveillance to stop this
pogrom and unwarranted carnage.”
Datim said that “over 50 houses were burnt, six
persons killed at Ganda, while several persons were also injured and rushed to
the hospital.”
A lucky survivor, Matawal Mangut, who lost five
brothers to the attackers in Ganda, lamented that their house was burnt
completely and that everything they ever worked for was gone.
He called for “assistance from the federal and
state governments” to help protect them from the persistent Fulani herders’
attacks in the area.
When contacted, the Spokesperson for Plateau
State Police Command, Matthias Tyopev, an Assistant Superintendent of Police,
confirmed the killings, describing it as “culpable homicide and grievous hurt.”
Tyopev also gave the names of some of the
deceased persons but some of the details were different from the information
provided by Zongo.
He said, “Yesterday (Thursday), March 8, 2018, at
about 8 pm, some unknown gunmen attacked and killed four Irigwe people at
Datanko village and one Fulani Christian at Nzharuvo village in Miango
District. The deceased persons were identified as Emmanuel Joseph (male, 16
years), Christopher Joseph (male, 16 years), Peace Joseph (male, six years),
Henry Audu (male, 25 years) and Samuel Isah (male, 48 years).
“Meanwhile, Samuel Isah has been buried, while
four other corpses have been deposited at the Jos University Teaching
Hospital’s mortuary. Chenka Amos, four, is still lying unconscious at Enos
Private Hospital, Miango. The investigation is in progress; intensive patrol is
being sustained.”
The Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders
Association of Nigeria (Plateau State), Mohammadu Nuru Abdullah, had on
Wednesday alleged that there was a fresh attack on his kinsmen, which claimed
three lives.
While it was not clear whether the allegation was
true, investigations by Saturday PUNCH revealed that anytime MACBAN made
such claims, including the rustling of their cows, there were always reprisals
on communities.
Abdullah, had in a statement, said he was
“overwhelmingly shocked” that the Irigwe militias, in an effort to accomplish
their mission of terrorising Fulani herdsmen in Bassa Local Government Area,
had on Monday, April 5, 2018, again attacked Fulani cattle herders and
mercilessly killed three persons without any provocation.
He had identified the persons as Abubakar Shehu,
Abubakar Gidado and Ishaq Yusuf.
“It is also disturbing that the Irigwe community
would always trespass into other neighbouring local government areas, launch
their attacks and kill our people for no reason.”
He had said, “On the same Monday when three of
our kinsmen were killed, the same militias attacked and killed a total of 38
cows; 20 of the cows belonged to Wada Alh Audu, while 18 belonged to Umaru
Ibrahim.
“The Irigwe militias usually cross into Riyom,
Jos South and part of Southern Kaduna to strike. In this particular incident,
they operated from Rukwechungu village of Miango district in Bassa Local
Government Area into Gero village of Gyel district in Jos South Local
Government Area.
“They also beat up and wounded Haruna Zakariya,
who is now receiving treatment in a clinic at Rafin Bauna. It is on record that
this militia group has been unleashing terror on our innocent cattle
herders in the area.”
