A widow identified as Philomena Aor Sule, was among seven persons murdered by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Gidan Sule village, in Kadarko, Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa state.
The gunmen wielding AK 47 rifles invaded Gidan Sule village in the early hours of Saturday October 8, shooting sporadically and killing five persons instantly while scores of others escaped with bullet wounds.
Two other persons were murdered in the early hours of Sunday, October 9, 2022.
It was gathered that death toll has reportedly risen to ten as some persons earlier declared missing, were found dead at a nearby bush while several others including children, women and aged persons have not been seen.
Popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has established a school for herdsmen inside a forest in Kaduna state.
He embarked on an inspection visit to the Sheikh Uthman Bin Fodio Centre at Kagarko Grazing Reserve Kohoto Village, Kaduna state over the weekend.
Gumi said the provision of infrastructures to herdsmen in their remote locations could help in curbing their violent ideologies.
According to the scholar, insecurity in Nigeria, particularly banditry can become a thing of the past, as bandits are ready to drop their arms if education opportunities and other basic amenities are provided for them at the grassroots.
He said; “If the centre which is designed to educate the herdsmen is replicated everywhere in the Country, Nigerians will live in peace.
Instead of spending billions on military hardware to fight the bandits, Nigeria should spend such money on schools and teachers. I have spoken with the bandits and they have expressed willingness to drop their arms and embrace peace, if their children can be given education and other social amenities.
What motivated me to start this project was to solve the insecurity problem we have from the root because every crime has its perpetrators and perpetrators are drawn from a pool so we want to go there and dry the pool and we found out that education is the best cure.
If they are educated, they will not be doing what they are doing.
So, we say we must take education to the grassroot and we embarked on the project to also be an example for others, local government, state and federal and rich individuals even cooperative societies to come together and make sure that we are directed across the forest to know what we can do to carter for nomads; it does not cost much, very little and it will help to educate them and we will live peacefully with them.
What we have here is a centre containing six classrooms that can be used for primary, secondary schools and at various times you can teach all categories at all times and the place will be engaged for 24 hours because the herdsmen usually take their cattle out by 10am and bring them back by dawn or sunset so they have 2 hours before they take their cattle away and we have 2 to 3 hours because we like to put some solar light so that they can read 8, 9, 10 in the night so that the herder can go and come back.
We have schools, we have hospital and also showing them how to grind the foliage which they can use to feed their animals, some of them don’t need to go out because those things are so cheap and farmers are throwing those things away, soon farmers will start charging for it. If we can duplicate this everywhere Nigerians will live in peace.”
While he denied saying Nigeria will seize to exist if bandits are declared as terrorists, Gumi said;
“It is a quotation out of context , I didn’t say there will be no Nigeria, I said if banditry now has turned into terrorism, fanatical religious terrorism which is there because Islam recognises religious terrorism so if we allow the herdsmen to turn into religious fanatic and extremist it will not be good for us as a nation.
99% of the herdsmen are not into banditry but if you turn it into religious struggle they will just go there committing crime, so it is not good to label them as terrorist because it will profile all herdsmen as terrorist because you are attaching it to herdsmen, you are not attaching it to an organization and if you say herdsmen are terrorist Nigeria will have problem, the whole course will be on fire, the north south and east will be on fire and nothing will remain of Nigeria if everywhere is on fire.
There is a lot that can be done to improve insecurity in Nigeria such as having this kind of centre instead of spending billions on hardware, let’s spend it on schools and teachers even the bandits I have spoken with them as i’m speaking with you to drop down their weapons to study, so long their women and Children will learn they are ready to drop their weapons, so why won’t we embrace peace?”
Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has issued a scathing critique of popular Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi over comments excusing bandits and herders of criminalities.
Omokri made this call via his Twitter handle on Thursday in response to comments by Gumi during an AriseTV interview.
In an interview with Arise TV, the Islamic cleric said: “The herdsmen are kidnapping children not to kill them but to get money; so how can you compare somebody who is killing our gallant men directly to somebody who is kidnapping children to make money and not to kill them. Look, we need some fairness in what we are doing.”
In his response, Omokri charged the security agencies to arrest the cleric over such a remark liable of setting ‘Nigeria on fire’.
In a tweet, Omokri wrote: “What is wrong with this man? Herdsmen don’t just abduct schoolchildren. Even if that is true (it is not), what is ‘only’ about that? Herdsmen have killed thousands of citizens in every Nigerian state. Gumi may set Nigeria on fire. How can he say this and walk free?”
His call aligns with that of many other Nigerians who have previously asserted that Gumi has to be arrested and questioned by the security agencies over his alliances with bandits.
Fulani herdsmen have attacked Shikaan Mbagena Kpav, a TIV community in Benue State, killing at least 36 residents including students of the College of Education in Katsina Ala.
According to SaharaReporters, the Fulani attackers stormed the community in the early hours of Thursday, and carried out the massacre.
The incident has sparked outrage among Nigerians on social media who condemned the ongoing silent “genocide” under the current administration.
There are conflicting figures of casualties as some believed the attackers might have killed up to 100 residents.
Nigerians are reacting with the hashtag, #BenueUnderAttack, and lamenting the ineptitude of the federal government and security agencies to address the situation of the killer herdsmen.
A Twitter user wrote; When Israel and Palestine were at war for about eight days, the world was alarmed and everybody was shouting but in Nigeria, serious genocide is ongoing against Christians in total blackout of the press, in Benue today this is what fulani herdsmen killed over 100 people, the world is quiet.
Another tweeted; I write this in Tears, Pain and Anguish. I have a few questions that deserve answers: What have the TIV people done? What have our ancestors done wrong that we haven’t been told to at least beg for forgiveness on their behalf? Pls Retweet to the World to see.
The Miyetti Allah has said that the blockade of cattle and foodstuffs to the South West through Kwara State will continue until the safety of Fulani is guaranteed in the region.
This disclosure was made by the coordinator of the Kwara State chapter of Miyetti Allah Association of Cattle Breeders, Aliyu Mohammed.
Speaking to newsmen after a crucial meeting of the association in Ilorin on Sunday, February 28, Mohammed said the action is a warning shot to ensure a peaceful operation of businesses by the Fulani and to end the harassment of the tribe in the south.
He also said not all Fulani are criminals, adding “Just as you have in any society where there are good and bad people.”
Mohammed insisted that “It is not only Fulanis that commit crimes in the country, but it was sad that everything happening now is heaped on Fulani herdsmen.”
The coordinator said the association was ready to fish out the bad eggs in their midst.
According to him, “We have concluded at our meeting today that anybody who comes to Kwara State claiming to be Fulani herder under questionable circumstances, will be reported to the security agencies for necessary action.
“Our vigilantes will monitor the bush and the forests where there are no security agencies and report suspected cattle rustlers who disguise as cattle herders to perpetrate crimes,” he added.
Mohammed appealed to the Federal government to arrest Sunday Igboho, who evicted the Fulani from Igangan in the Ibarapa Local Government Area of Oyo State, for the alleged destruction of their properties and killing of their people.
He, however, commended Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for his statesmanship in accommodating and cooperating to ensure the safe landing of Fulanis in the state.
The Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has told Governor Simon Lalong to apologise to farmers and the people of Plateau State for saying farmers also carry AK-47 rifles.
The PDP, while reacting to comments by Lalong that farmers also carry AK-47, counseled the governor to go “back to school and learn how to talk” over comments on farmers/herders clash in the State.
According to the party, the governor lied in his comment and needs to return to school on how to talk properly on such sensitive matters.
It would be recalled that Lalong, during a TV show on Tuesday, had said security reports at his disposal indicated herdsmen and farmers carry AK 47 riffles to protect and defend themselves.
In a reaction on Thursday in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, John T. Akans, the PDP described APC’s defence of the governor as “reckless.”
The statement read in part: “The reckless response of the APC to the genuine concerns of Plateau people on the recent irresponsible comments of Governor Lalong leaves one with no feeling other than that of utter disappointment and disgust.
“We continue to wonder how a sane person or party would condone such shameful and self- indicting comments of a supposedly elected governor against his people before the entire world, describing it myopically as “a storm in a tea cup” Such an idiomatic sense needs recalibration.
The APC in its desperate attempt to do damage control has created more harm to Lalong and its party and have further exposed their cluelessness in governance.
“The writer, in his usual garrulous, uncouth manner, and attempt to divert people’s attention from the colossal disgrace and failures of the APC, failed woefully to address frank and glaring issues raised by the Peoples Democratic Party.
“They have however succeeded in exposing their immaturity in the whole saga.
“What the APC through Mallam Bashir Sati would have done was simply to apologse to Plateau people by acknowledging their principal’s lack of decorum and emotional Intelligence and his blind romance with a superior power outside of Plateau.
The damage control mechanism Bashir Sati adopted further exposes the total disregard for the masses that toiled to bring their party to power.
“On an advisory note, we urge the APC to carry out an opinion poll and weigh the level of regret by those who brought the APC to power.
It will interest Sati and his cohorts to know that intelligent people within that party have times without number hid their faces in shame, hoping and praying for 2023 to come so Mr. Lalong doesn’t continue with this show of shame and disgraceful spree of the beautiful Plateau spirit.
“For the records, the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party in Plateau State is not aware of any faction as being promoted by APC in the state because any statement released by the APC lacks facts, but always laying emphasis on faction as if they have become a competent Court of law.
Lalong’s desperate but failed attempt to create a faction within our party is known to the world. This has hugely deviated his attention from anything governance to 2023 where he hopes to be APC’s presidential running mate.
“APC on the Plateau should advice Lalong to know that having failed woefully as a Governor, he should stop deceiving himself for any future political consideration.
“Once again, Governor Lalong and Plateau APC should know, that Plateau farmers do not carry AK47″ but hoes and other farming implements, and we have no land for ranching. You lie! Lalong, you lie!.”
A Fulani group, the Allah Kautal Hore Fulani Socio-Cultural Association, has thrown its weight behind the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, following his comments that herdsmen carry AK-47 to defend themselves against attacks by cattle rustlers.
National secretary of the group, Saleh Alhassan said in a statement on Thursday in Kaduna State, that Governor Mohammed was the “lone voice among his peers in the North in defence of Fulani herdsmen who are being persecuted across Nigeria.”
The statement titled, ‘His Excellency Abdulkadir Bala Mohammed – Executive Governor, Bauchi State: The gradual emergence of a courageous northern leader’, reads:
Governor Bala Mohammed has treaded where angels are scared to tread in the past.
“He has taken what every politician will consider as political risk in the past by holding divergent views where others have failed or chickened out.
“So, his current position on the herders/farmers conversation is not strange or out of context.
Govenor Bala Mohammed has refused to be like Governor of Benue State, H.E. Samuel Ortom, whose only achievement is the raising of ethnic militia and gang leaders that have been visiting mayhem of killings in his state.
“He has not achieved anything tangible apart from his obnoxious anti-open grazing law in the state.
“Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu will be held accountable for the ongoing genocide against innocent pastoralist and northerners living in the South-West.
“He claims to be a senior lawyer but he has proven to be a disgrace to the legal profession by his actions against Fulani herdsmen in his state in the recent past weeks.
Akeredolu created the Amotekun Corps to unleash terror on herders and Northerners in the south-western states of Ondo and Oyo.
“The Allah Kautal Hore Fulani Socio-Cultural Association stands with H.E Bala Mohammed since he is the only voice who speaks for the Fulani people and his intervention on the ongoing farmer/herders’ conflict was simply to state the obvious devoid of the current politicisation.”
A Nigerian man based in the United States who came back to the country to have a good time with his loved ones has had a hell of an encounter with kidnappers.
It was gathered that the United States of America-based Nigerian reportedly escaped from kidnappers’ den after turning the heat against one of his captors and beating him to a pulp, according to a report by Punch. The man, identified simply as Chinweizu, was said to have been abducted on the Akara Isuikwuato Road in Abia State alongside an unidentified woman. It was gathered that the kidnappers, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, seized the duo around 3pm on February 3, 2021, and took them into the forest. A source close to Chinweizu said while inside the bush, three of the kidnappers left the male victim with one of their armed colleagues and took the young woman away to possibly rape her.
But Chinweizu was said to have attacked the kidnapper when he turned his back on him.The source, who preferred not to be mentioned, said, “He (Chineweizu) kicked the kidnapper from behind and picked his gun and used it’s butt to consistently hit the eyes of the gang member until the white part of one of eyes almost popped out.”The source, who preferred anonymity, said the kidnapper’s gang members left the young woman when they heard the cry of their colleague and rushed to help him. The source stated,
“But before they could get there, the kidnapped victim had gone after inflicting a serious injury on one of the kidnappers, who is a Fulani man. He (Chinweizu) also took the kidnapper’s gun away.“He reported the matter to the Army and said the kidnappers would rush their colleague to a nearest hospital. Some of the hospitals were informed about the development and on the same day, the kidnappers came to one of the hospitals with their injured colleague.“They were immediately rounded up. The victim was called upon to identify them before they were taken away by security operatives.”
Another source in Isuikwuato corroborated the story of how Chinweizu escaped from the kidnappers’ camp. The source said, “They kidnapped an Ahaba man and a woman of unconfirmed origin. Both were taken to their camp in the heart of the forest.“The man disarmed and wounded one of his captors and escaped, while the others were attempting to rape the female captive. The cry of the disarmed kidnapper disrupted the rape and the two victims escaped in different directions.“Today, three of the kidnappers came to Ahaba junction for medical attention for the injured kidnapper. Unknown to them, a trap had been set and in time, soldiers and policemen arrived and took them away.” Confirming the incident, the Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, Geoffrey Ogbonna, said the suspected kidnappers seized Chinweizu and a woman after they had shot a 63-year-old man dead.
Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State on Monday said videos making the round on social media purporting that members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were responsible for burning of houses belonging to herdsmen were not the handiwork of the separatist movement.According to Umahi, communities, rather IPOB were responsible for the acts.The governor who also disclosed that South-East governors had earlier banned open grazing and movement of cows on foot in the zone, stated this in Abakaliki on Monday during the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) membership registration committee.
While warning against politicization of security matters, the governor called on leaders of the South-East geopolitical zone to create a framework that will secure the lives and properties of the people.Umahi, who is the Chairman of the Southeast Governors’ Forum said: “The governors of the southeast had banned not only open grazing, but we have also banned the movement of cows by foot into the southeast.“In each of the five states of the southeast, we are managing ourselves very well. We have also stopped the movement of cows across communities.“What we discussed in the southeast with the herdsmen, with the farmers is the method that has been in place for a long time before now.“What our people must know is that security is not political, what is demanded of the leaders is to put up programs that favour the people and foster national unity.“There is a new dimension that is taking place in the southeast which is very dangerous. It is when the communities use the name of IPOB, the video and upload it to the social media and say it is IPOB that is burning the houses of herdsmen.“It is not IPOB, it is the communities that are doing this and this is very dangerous for the Igbo man. I am talking to us as leaders.”
The governor said the forum supported the move to flush out herdsmen, cultists, kidnappers and bandits from various forests in the region.
The Governor of Ebonyi State and Chairman of the Southeast Governors’ Forum, David Umahi, has warned against the use of fake messages, essentially video, to instigate a crisis between the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the herdsmen. Governor Umahi gave the warning on Monday during the All Progressives Congress stakeholders’ meeting held at the Christian Ecumenical Centre, Abakaliki.
The governor said the forum supported the move to flush out herdsmen, cultists, kidnappers and bandits from various forests in the region.
He also re-affirmed that the zone had banned open grazing of cattle essentially by foot. He enjoined leaders in the zone to exhibit patriotism in their conduct to guarantee the country’s unity.
He said, “Dissemination of fake videos alleging the killing of Fulanis by IPOB in the South-East should stop.
“What our people must know is that security is not political. What is demanded of the leaders is to put up programs that favour the people and foster national unity.
“In our forests today, we have kidnappers, herdsmen, cultists, all sorts of criminals. Anybody staying in the forest is taking a risk. When we say that people should move out of the forests, it is for their safety and security.
“So, I support that kidnappers, herdsmen, cultists, and bandits should be flushed out of our forests.
“Also, governors of the South East have been calling on our leaders to speak out on the security of the zone and unity of Nigeria.
“I read on paper where someone said he was giving governors of the South East seven days to ban open grazing. The South-East governors had banned open grazing and movement of cows by foot into the South East, in each of the South-East states.
“So, we are managing ourselves well; what we discussed with the herdsmen is that the system has been in place for a long time.
“We live in a dangerous time, without patriotism to our nation Nigeria, it is tough to have a peaceful time,” he explained. Highlights of the meeting were the adoption of LGA nominees for federal board appointments and empowerment among others.
Reno Omokri who was the former special assistant to former president Goodluck Jonathan, has once again spoken. In recent days, Reno Omokri has spoken on several issues.
According to a tweet he recently made, he stated that the Eastern Security Network ESN is taking on herdsmen in Isiukwuato in Abia State, Sunday Igboho on the other hand is taking on herdmen too in Igagan, Oyo State. The on the same vain, Amotekun is also taking on herdmen in Ondo State.
Reno went on and stated that if the government fails to protect Nigerians, we have the right to protect ourselves. He ended by asking if we must allow ourselves to be killed to prove our patriotism.
Frontline activist and co-convener of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, Aisha Yesufu, has blasted the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and his Eastern Security Network (ESN), over a video the group posted on Saturday where members of the security outfit were seen chasing after some herdsmen and killing dozens of cows in the process.
Kanu had posted a video on his Facebook page of the security outfit’s invasion of the camp of the herdsmen in Isiukwuato, Abia State, where they chased out the herdsmen and killed some cows in the enclave.
In the video, the ESN operatives were also seen burning houses and cows belonging to the herdsmen.
On his Facebook page, Kanu had written:
“Video of men at work last night across all the towns and villages of the old Bende Division, especially Isiukwuato.
“ESN has commenced the combing of parts of Isiukwuato forests last night and engagement with the enemy is ongoing and will continue until they no longer present a threat to our communities along that axis.”
In reacting to the post on her Twitter handle on Monday, Yesufu described the situation as unacceptable and warned that Kanu and ESN were taking the laws into his hands as no one in the country has a monopoly of violence.
In the tweet, the activist wrote:
“This is absolutely not acceptable. We cannot have security outfits taking laws into their hands & maiming, killing & destroying properties. This is not acceptable.
“We must always remember no one has a monopoly of violence and intolerance and we can all be mad. Let the law guide us!”
In another tweet, she wrote: “Police will kill, they will have supporters. Soldiers will kill, they will have supporters. Hisbah will destroy people’s beers, they will have supporters. Amotekun will kill, they will have supporters. Eastern Security Network will kill cows, they will have supporters
The government of Kwara State has assured residents of their safety and security amid the influx of herdsmen into the State.
This was contained in a statement issued on Saturday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Professor Mamman Sabbah Jibril.
He said that government has put in place measures to prevent any crisis between host communities and herders in the state.
Jibril also added that the leadership of Miyetti Allah has also committed to disallow night grazing or cattle grazing by underage persons in the State.
The statement issued by Jibril reads thus; “In the light of some unfortunate developments in some neighbouring states, we urge our people not to entertain any fear as proactive measures have been taken and are being taken to maintain peace and ensure security of lives and property of every resident.
“The government is working with all security agencies, Directors of Personnel Management (DPMs) of local governments and the leadership of Miyetti Allah to strengthen the existing peace between various economic interests,” the statement added.
It said, “At the instance of His Excellency, the Governor of Kwara State, the office of the SSG has held briefings with various stakeholders across the state on the need to ensure that all hands are on deck to protect lives and property.
“The leadership of Miyetti Allah has also committed to disallow night grazing or cattle grazing by underage persons.
“Assisted by the security agencies, the DPMs across the 16 local government areas have been directed to work with local communities and legitimate herders to keep the peace,” it concluded.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, on Friday met with the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) on the challenges confronting herdsmen in the country
In his address at the meeting held in Abuja, the Sultan expressed concern that many Nigerians have continued to associate Fulani herdsmen with crimes in the country.
He added that not all the crimes committed in the country were perpetrated by the herdsmen.
He urged the leadership of MACBAN to find a workable solution to security and socio-economic challenges faced by members of the association and urged them to shun any act that would tarnish their reputations.
The National Secretary of the association, Baba Ngelzarma, urged the Federal Government to come up with social support programmes for herdsmen and train them in other skills in addition to cattle rearing.
He said: “Even the cattle rearing are they getting money? Their cattle are not competing with the ones you have in other parts of the world that weigh 700 to 800 kilograms.
“The milk output is also not competing with the ones we have in other parts of the world where one single cow gives an output of 50 litres per day.
“We still hold the outdated species of cow that are weighing between 100 and 120 kilograms and given out an output of milk that is not more than three to five litres per day.”
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has warned Yoruba activist and freedom fighter, Sunday Igboho, not to take laws into his hands even as he is fighting for the liberation of the Yorubas from criminal herdsmen.
The Ooni who gave the warning while appearing on Arise Television programme on Wednesday, said that having spoken out for the downtrodden and shown everyone that he really cares for his people, it was time for Igboho to allow the constituted authorities including the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, and other leaders to take charge and handle the security challenges in the state.
“Let us be very objective. He (Igboho) is being a mouthpiece for the downtrodden. He came up and everybody is listening now, but my advice to him, as a traditional ruler, is that he needs to be very careful so that the politicians won’t hijack the whole motive from him,” the Ooni said.
Continuing, the first class monarch added:
“He has done well and we’ve already praised him, but he shouldn’t take laws into his hands. We have the governor there, he is the chief security officer of the state and Mr President has invited him (Makinde). Let the right people that are being authorised to do what is right do it.
“He (Igboho) has done well and the world has heard him but everything should be done in moderation.”
Recall that there was violence at Igangan on Friday when a popular Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo, well known as Sunday Igboho, alongside his followers, stormed the Fulani settlement in the ancient town to eject Seriki Fulani, Salihu Abdukadir, and herdsmen accused of perpetrating crimes ranging from kidnappings, killings, rape to invasion of farmlands with their cattle.
Two Fulani leaders, the Seriki Fulani of Igbo Ora, Alhaji Idris Abubakar, and the Seriki Fulani of Eruwa, Alhaji Sule Mohammed, have solicited for forgiveness, assuring the people of Oyo State that they would facilitate peaceful coexistence in Ibarapaland.
The community leaders spoke during a visit of the state government delegation to the town on Sunday.
At the meeting, residents of Igangan in the Ibarapa area of Oyo State recounted their ordeals in the hands of Fulani herdsmen.
The community also presented to the delegation, pictures and other evidence of ransoms paid to the herdsmen. They accused the Seriki Fulani of complicity in the negotiation of ransoms.
During the meeting, those who paid ransoms to the bandits presented pictorial evidence to back up their claims.
The traditional ruler of Igangan, the Asigangan of Igangan, Oba Abdulazeez Adeoye, whose cousin was kidnapped, tendered the evidence of the ransom he paid to secure his release.
Residents also stormed the venue of the meeting with photographs of those who were killed and those who suffered attacks in the hands of criminal herdsmen.
Oba Adeoye confirmed to Punch that victims and their families came to the meeting with photographs to back up their claims.
He said, “Our people brought photos. I also showed the evidence of ransom paid for one of my children.”
The PUNCH gathered that despite that Seriki Fulani in Igangan had fled; there were still some Fulani living in the midst of the people in the town unmolested.
Some youths were also bearing placards, with inscriptions, which condemned the atrocities perpetrated by herdsmen in the community.
The Commissioner of Police, who led senior police officers, including Deputy Commissioners of Police and Mobile Police Commanders on a tour of Igangan, Tede and Ago Are communities, urged the residents to toe the path of peace.
She expressed the police’s readiness to carry out a thorough investigation to ensure justice for victims of kidnappings, rape and other crimes committed in the areas.
But Fulani leaders, who attended the meeting, begged for forgiveness, saying the Fulani were ready for peaceful coexistence with their hosts.
The Secretary of Igangan Development Advocates, Lawal Akeem, said the people were tired of the antics of the Seriki Fulani of Igangan, whom he accused of complicity in different kidnap cases.
He also said that the community had been forced to pay about N50 million in ransoms for different kidnapping cases while also accusing Fulani herders of regularly vandalising farms and raping women of the community.
A youth in the town, Taiwo Adeagbo, said that no fewer than 15 women had been raped in recent weeks.
A member of the state House of Assembly, Peter Ojedokun, also told the delegation that the peace in Ibarapaland had been stirred by the Fulani herders with the incessant attacks on community members, kidnappings and other crimes.
The Caretaker Chairman of Ibarapa North-West Local Council Development Area, Okediji Olusegun, corroborated the allegations levelled against the Seriki Fulani of Igangan, saying that the Seriki had been fingered in the series of security challenges in the area many times.
A woman in the Ijebu North local government area of Ogun State, Morenike Salami, is currently battling for her life after some marauding herdsmen attacked her while visiting her building site and in the process, cut off one of her fingers and shattered her jaw.
The attackers, said to be about eight in number, had reportedly waylaid their victim’s car and while she attempted to make a quick reverse, was caught and attacked.
The victim was said to have been taken to a few hospitals including the state-owned Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, but was rejected before she was taken to the Lagos State University Hospital, Ikeja, before she could get treatment.
In a viral video on social media on Saturday, a female voice was heard asking the daughter of the victim a few questions about the attack.
Replying, the daughter said:
“She (my mother) was going to her site in Idofe after a road that leads to Oru along Quarry. She said she saw some cattle while she was driving on the road and as she made a quick attempt to reverse, she was surrounded by some Fulani men who emerged from the bush.
She said they were about eight and the first thing they did was to shoot at all the four tyres and later went to block her car at the front. One of them carried a gun and wanted to shoot her. She begged him but he went ahead and shot her, removing one of her fingers.
My mother said she pretended as if she had died. One of her fingers was blown away by the bullets. She said she pretended as if she was dead. So, they went back into the bush. She said she managed to get down from the car after waiting for them to go.
“After she managed to alight from the car, she saw a tipper lorry and flagged it down. The driver rescued her and took her to Oru but she was rejected. We went to the general hospital but she was also rejected. When we got to OSUTH , they also said there was no space.”
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi, said:
“Those people have a piece of land between Oru and Ago Iwoye. They went to inspect the land. One Alhaja who was going with them had excused herself with the promise that she would join them on the land.
“On getting to the land, they discovered that some Fulanis were attacking a labourer hired to clear the land in question. Those people immediately ran to those in the neighbourhood and in the process, the Fulanis left the victim and took to their heels.
“Unknown to the Alhaja, on her way to join the people, the Fulanis laid in ambush for her and opened fire on the vehicle she was driving. The woman was hit by a bullet and the Fulanis, who perpetrated the crime, ran away.
“When the police were informed, they went to the scene and could not find any of them but they saw the cattle they left behind. The police, in conjunction with the local vigilante group and hunters didn’t allow the cattle to leave the spot.
“Around 10pm, three Fulani men came to the spot with the aim of taking away the cattle and the police apprehended them. They have been transferred to the police headquarters in Eleweran. They have strong connection to the crime.”
Prof. Akintola advised the Federal Government to consult widely with elders from all the states of the federation concerning the issue.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for dialogue over tribal clashes in Oyo State and appealed to the Federal Government to apply caution in handling the fragile situation.
The group’s director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, made the appeal in a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday,
“A tribal activist who gave quit notice to non-indigenes in Igangan, Oke Ogun area of Oyo State, allegedly led indigenes of the area to attack the latter on Jan. 22.
MURIC President, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
“The incident allegedly resulted in the destruction of houses and vehicles. The Igangan incident must be condemned by all lovers of peace.
“At the same time, we cannot close our eyes to the pain and suffering of farmers and indigenes of the area that criminals regard as soft targets for kidnapping, armed robbery.
“It is crystal clear that it is not a religion matter though some have been misled into labelling it as such. Our focus must be the criminals, not any tribe,’’ he said.
Prof. Akintola advised the Federal Government to consult widely with elders from all the states of the federation concerning the issue with a view to finding a comprehensive solution.
“Federal Government should also seek advice from other African countries where the same crisis has been on the front burner at one time or the other since this conflict is not restricted to Nigeria alone.
“To douse tension immediately, both the Federal Government and the Oyo State government should undertake to speedily and adequately compensate victims of the latest conflict in Igangan, Oyo State.
“MURIC’s avowed motto is: `Dialogue, Not Violence’. We, therefore, advocate wide-scale dialogue in the present circumstances,’’ he stated.
The soldiers’ action has forced traditional rulers and monarchs in the affected communities to write a save-our-soul petition to the Nigerian Army authorities demanding protection from the harassment of soldiers and herdsmen.
There is tension in the Ketu-speaking villages in the Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State after soldiers escorted herdsmen to graze in the communities, and brutalised some residents in defence of the herders.
The soldiers’ action has forced traditional rulers and monarchs in the affected communities to write a save-our-soul petition to the Nigerian Army authorities demanding protection from the harassment of soldiers and herdsmen.
According to The Nation, one of the victims is Seye Mulero, who was severely injured in Ubeku village in Yewa North and is currently receiving medical treatment.
The herdsmen, who had left the village after the villagers rejected their continued presence, suddenly resurfaced at about 2 pm on December 19, 2020, with a handful of soldiers from the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta.
The soldiers headed straight for the palace of the community’s traditional ruler, Chief Olaleye Adigun, calling out the villagers and warning them against preventing the evicted herdsmen from returning to the village.
In the middle of this strange encounter, Mulero told the soldiers that the herders would not be allowed to remain in the community because of their brutal killing of residents and the destruction of their farmlands in recent times.
Mulero said, “Everyone was frightened by the action and utterances of the soldiers, but I summoned the courage to tell them how a Geography teacher Mr. Yomi Akinola and two students of Community High School, Ibeku, among others, were killed by the herdsmen while our women were raped and killed on their ways to the farm.”
But Mulero and Ubeku village were not the only person and area that tasted the bile of the soldiers who escorted the herdsmen in a military patrol van from one village to another. Innocent indigenes of Iselu, Ibeku, Agbon-Ojodu, Asa and other villages were also harassed and assaulted by the soldiers at the instance of the herdsmen.
After leaving Ubeku, the herders and the complicit soldiers moved to neighbouring Asa, where they reenacted the Ubeku scenario, causing the hapless villagers to panic.
At Asa, the herders sighted Mulero’s brother, Gabriel Mulero, accusing him of being among the crowd that jeered them after his brother was beaten up.
There and then, the soldiers seized the young man, giving him some deafening slaps and kicking him mercilessly before whisking him away to a neighbouring village, Agbon-Ojodu, where they dropped him off after elders of the community pleaded for his release.
Worried by the development, monarchs of the affected communities petitioned the Nigeria Army over alleged connivance of its men with herdsmen to assault and harass villagers.
The monarchs are the Oniggua of Iggualand, Oba Micheal Adeleye Dosumu; the Eselu of Iseluland, Oba Akintunde Ebenezer Akinyemi; and the Alademeso of Igan Alade, Oba Gabriel Olukunle Olalowo.
The petition titled ‘matter of urgency’ dated January 7, 2021, signed by their lawyer, Mr. Olaoluwa Folalu, was addressed to the Brigade Commander of 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta.
A former Governor of Oyo State, Chief Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala has advised Governor Seyi Makinde of the state, to without further delay convene a council of state meeting.
Alao-Akala noted that the meeting was necessary in view of the current security situation in the state.
DAILY POST gathered that Oyo State in the last few days has been engulfed by a series of unrest occasioned by kidnapping, attacks and killing of innocent citizens.
Alao-Akala, however, explained that such meetings would be relevant in order to brainstorm on the security challenges facing the state.
The former Governor who ruled the state between 2007 and 2011 made this call while speaking with journalists shortly after an expanded meeting of the Elders Advisory Council of the All Progressives Congress held on Saturday at his Awosika residence in Ibadan.
Alao Akala
He advised Makinde to convene the meeting which will have in attendance former Governors of the state, both military and civilian governors.
Alao-Akala said, “A council of state meeting consisting of all former Governor’s of the state both uniformed and civilian is necessary at this point to save our dear state from total collapse security-wise.
“A council of state meeting is a statutory organ of government and its function includes advising the executive on policy making.
“Gov. Seyi Makinde needs help in the area of maintaining law and order in the polity hence he should not shy away from that fact. He needs to sit down and brainstorm with people who have been there before him to share from their wealth of experience on how certain things are done especially in the area of security.
“Take for instance, at the National level, the President meets periodically with former heads of state and former Presidents, all former Chief Justices amongst others at the Nigerian Council of state meeting to review activities of Government and seek for advice and interventions where need be.
“This is exactly what he needs in Oyo state at the moment, the peace and stability of Oyo state is a collective responsibility of all, we are all stakeholders in the Oyo state Project.
“We have seasoned, well trained Retired Generals who have been Military Administrator of Oyo state at one time or the other who are still alive, we have civilian governors who have been on that seat before Governor Makinde so also are retired Chief Judges of the state who will have one or two advises to offer to nip in the bud all these security challenges before it gets out of control.
“Part of the duties of the council of state is also to advise whenever requested to do so on the maintenance of public order within the federation and any part thereof and in such other matters as may be desired so Governor Seyi Makinde will very much be in order if he convenes this strategic meeting as a stitch in time saves nine”.
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