By JACOB KUBEKA, Abuja
The three main socio-cultural organizations representing the people of Benue state in Middle Belt of Nigeria have called on the Federal government of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the March 5, 2018 killing of 26 Benue citizens in Okpokwu Local Government and destruction of property by armed Fulani herdsmen is the last.
“We are thrown into further mourning because it will be recalled that on the 1st and 2nd of January 2018, over 73 Benue people were murdered in cold blood in their sleep and were given mass burial. This continuous killings have become too much and we call upon well-meaning Nigerians and the international community to come to our aid to stop this planned genocide,” the three organisation: Mdzough U Tiv, Idoma National Forum and Omi Ny’ Igede, said at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.
While condemning in strong terms the continuous killings in Benue state, the three socio-cultural organizations, also called on well-meaning Nigerians and the international community to pressurize the Federal government and her law enforcement agencies to respect the law to prohibit open rearing and grazing of livestock and provide for the establishment of ranches and livestock administration, control and other matters therewithin, 2017. This is global best practice.
“It is apparent that the law made by the Benue Government in line with her constitutional rights to avert the killings and destruction of property and restore peace between herders and Benue farmers is, unfortunately and sadly not respected by the Federal government and her security agencies,” they said.
President of the Idoma National Forum, Barrister Amali Adoya Amali, who spoke on behalf of the organisations further warned that the people of Benue would resist any attempt to declare a state of emergency in the state as is being rumoured in certain quarters.
He called on the international community to pressurize the Federal government to stop treatment of Benue people as second class citizens and to ensure the arrest, interrogation and prosecution of perpetrators of genocide against Benue people.
While calling on the Federal government to facilitate the return of over 160,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their ancestral homes to get back to their economic activities which are mainly farming, as well as the recommencement of school activities for the children, the three organizations, emphasised the need for the Federal Government to create an enabling environment for dialogue between aggrieved parties.
“We call on our brother socio-cultural organization in Nigeria like Afenifere, OhanezeNdi Igbo, Ijaw National Congress, Southern Kaduna Peoples Union and others to rise in solidarity to defend the people of Benue state and the sovereignty of Nigeria as a whole,” they appealed.
Lamenting that the utterances of the Federal Government officials have not promoted the atmosphere of peace and unity, the organisations also expressed regrets that “the Federal government that is responsible for safety and security of Nigerians, by the body language of government officials and their utterances, have not convinced us of their willingness to protect and defend the people of Benue state in line with their (official) constitutional role.”
According to the Amali, “utterances such as: i) The President himself to have said that more people have been killed in Taraba than Benue and Zamfara states put together maybe misconstrued to mean that there should be more killings in Benue state. ii) The Inspector General of Police statement that government should establish free ranches with all infrastructures is an invitation to anarchy and further killings. The Inspector General of Police acts autocratically and assumes the role of the judiciary, legislative and executives.
“No enabling environment is created to facilitate dialogue between aggrieved parties. We are disappointed by the Inspector General of Police’s call on vigilante to surrender arms without mentioning the armed Fulani herdsmen.
“iii) The inability and reluctance of Federal Government security agencies to arrest the perpetrators, especially, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, even when they admitted responsibility for the cruel killings in Benue.
“iv) Exercise Cat-Race (Ayem -A- kpatuma) seems to us, to be a deceptive strategy by the Federal Government to aid the invasion of Benue state by herdsmen. We expected that the army “Exercise Ayem-A- kpatuma” will assist the over 160,000 IDPs to move back to their homes by restoring peace and order, this has not been done, instead armed Fulani herders have continued to occupy such homes.
“We also expected the army to inspire the confidence in Benue People rather than fuelling their fears that they have come to assist the Fulani herders to continue killing, occupying Benue land and homes and further influx of large number of Fulani and cattle. In this regard, we condemn the pamphlet issued by the army on February 15th that profiled the Benue people as cattle rustlers.”
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