The Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has expressed great concern with the way many communities in the region have come under what they called unprovoked and premeditated attacks by suspected herdsmen resulting in the loss of lives and massive destruction of property.
The forum observed that amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in lockdown in states of the country, it expressed dismay that many communities in the region have come under attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
The statement by its National President, Pogu Bitrus, noted that killer herdsmen in the early hours of Sunday, June 14, 2020, launched an onslaught on Agatu communities in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State, killing no fewer than nine persons and injuring 15 persons, adding that the attackers also razed down the Adana community and torched many houses in three communities of Olegogbeche, Olegeje and Olegede with the injured presently receiving medical treatment in undisclosed hospitals.
The forum further observed, “Penultimate Sunday, these bandits had invaded Igede communities of Itakpa and Echori in Okpokwu Council Ward of Obi Local Government Area of Benue State where they killed no fewer than 15 persons and injured 23 persons. Those who sustained various degrees of injuries were taken to hospitals in Oju and Otukpo LGAs, while hundreds of internally displaced persons took refuge at the IDP camp located at the Pilot Primary School Ibarike-ito.”
The statement noted that the renewed Benue attacks by those the forum described as “bloodthirsty herdsmen” is a reflection of the resurging insecurity ripping across various communities in the country.
In Kaduna state, the statement added that agents of terror have continued to let loose their long fangs of horror and spreading dread, as tension continues to brew in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of the state, pointing out that the killing of an Chawai young man over farmland by the Hausa ethnic group had led to the deployment of security personnel who shot another youth to death and left 14 other persons injured.
“The present tension in Kaduna state is coming on the heels of spates of killings and decimation of Adara communities in Kajuru Local Government Area where dozens have been killed and several villages sacked, with thousands rendered homeless and now in IDP camps and faced with a bleak future,” the forum lamented.
In Niger state, according to the forum, Gbagyi, Kamuku, Ungwai and Bassa communities have also come under renewed attacks in Munya, Rafi and Shiroro Local Government Areas, with recent onslaughts claiming the lives of many people, including a cleric and kidnappings of others.
In one of the assaults, it further added that residents had sighted a helicopter before a group of gunmen stormed their village and ransacked the entire settlement, stressing that the deployment of helicopters for surveillance fits the narration of previous attacks where an appearance of a helicopter is always a precursor for such attacks, including that of Gbagyi and Adara communities in Chikun and Kajuru LGAs of Kaduna State.
The forum, therefore, condemned what it called the inexcusable and unwarranted renewed attacks on peaceful communities by the murderous bandits.
“We are at a loss how these violence merchants are allowed to move freely with deadly weapons amidst tight restrictions that bar movements across state boundaries. It is painful to note that lockdowns have only offered an opportunity for these mindless murderers to kill and destroy communities,” the statement explained.
The forum lamented that while awaiting a permanent solution from the Federal Government to respond to the criminal activities of Boko Haram, killer herdsmen and other bandits ravaging the people with the sole purpose of seizing their ancestral lands, it said Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State should never to rest on his oars in intensifying efforts aimed at alleviating the suffering victims of terrorism in Agatu and Obi LGAs.
It also called on Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State to scale up security engagements in order to ensure the protection of lives and property in Munya, Rafi and Shiroro LGAs, among others.
It called on the Federal Government to, in conjunction with security agencies, empower communities to form vigilante groups in order to stave off further onslaughts and destruction of property.
The Middle Belt Region, according to the statement is comprising mostly farming communities, and therefore called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the security of the area so that farmers could return to their sacked villages and towns and be fully engaged in their occupation in order to avert food shortages in the coming years.
