Over two days after, Buhari orders security agencies to ‘find, deal with’ Benue, IDP camps attackers

Over two days after a violent onslaught by suspected Fulani herdsmen, President Muhammadu Buhari, Saturday, condemned what he described as ‘extreme violence’ and killings of nearly 80 people in Benue State carried out during a spate of more than three gruesome attacks in one week.

Benue communities have been under the siege by suspected Fulani herdsmen from Wednesday through to Friday night, as nearly 80 people are believed to have been killed in these attacks.

President Buhari reacting, in a statement by his media aide, Malam Garba Shehu, condemned the ‘use of terrorism as a tool in inter-communal conflicts,’ directing that the attackers ‘be found and dealt with’ swiftly under the law.

He also directed the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force and military commanders to enhance surveillance on every front and to immediately review the security management in the affected areas.

The President further conveyed his grief and sympathy to the families of those who lost their lives due to the attacks

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those murdered. The entire nation stands united in the fight against the forces of terror and evil,” the President was quoted as saying.

The attacks on the people by the Fulani herdsmen is said not to be unconnected with livestock grazing  rights, as farmers continually face off the herders who encroach on their land.

Benue State has an anti-open grazing law assented to by Governor Samuel Ortom, in place and is the first to enact such in the country.

However, the herders insist that the lands are grazing routes that were first backed by law in 1965, five years after the country gained its independence in 1960.

Last Wednesday, suspected Fulani herdsmen killed at least 50 people during two attacks on a village in Benue, authorities confirmed, Thursday.

Chairman of the Otukpo local government area, where the massacre happened, Ruben Bako, said that gunmen killed 47 people on Wednesday in Umogidi village in Benue state. A day earlier, three other people had been slain in the same place, he said.

It would be recalled that a traditional ruler in Apa Local Government Area of Benue was killed in an earlier attack along with many others before the attackers moved to the Otukpo Local Government Area on Wednesday, killing 46 persons including a 33-year-old son of the local government chairman and now the latest strike at an IDP camp in the state capital, which occurred on Friday in the Agan area of Makurdi local government area.

Benue state police spokesperson, DSP Anene Sewuese confirmed the attacks adding that the assailants had opened fire at a market.

However, Sewuese put the death toll at eight people, including a police officer.

The motive of the attacks was not immediately clear, though authorities said they believe both attacks were connected. While there was no claim of responsibility, authorities said suspicion fell on local herdsmen, who have clashed in the past with farmers over land disputes in the region.

The latest Friday night attack is said to have claimed at least 30 people and is said to have occurred at an internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in the State, as the wave of violent attacks on communities continued.

Gunmen attacked civilians in Mgban village, Friday evening, and an investigation is underway, said state police spokesperson, Sewuese Anene.

According to witnesses in the communities, local herdsmen were responsible for the attack said to be over land grazing rights with local farmers.

The people attacked had been displaced from fighting between farmers and cattle herders and were seeking refuge in a makeshift displacement site.

The violence comes days after gunmen killed at least 50 people in two separate attacks on Umogidi village in the state, which is referred to as “Nigeria’s food basket” because of its bountiful harvests.

The villages are some 170 kilometers (105 miles) away from Friday’s attack.