Crime
20 Fulani men killed and over 200 cattle either shot or maimed as Circle of violence deepens in North Central Nigeria
20 Fulani men killed and over 200 cattle either shot or maimed as Circle of violence deepens in North Central Nigeria
By: Zagazola Makama
The escalating cycle of violence in Nigeria’s North Central region has taken a disturbing turn, with recent attacks revealing a deepening ethno-communal divide that threatens the fragile peace of the zone.
While widespread attention has been given to recent heinous mass killings of over 100 victims in Tiv-dominated areas, fresh intelligence and local sources reveal that a silent wave of retaliatory violence targeting none violent Fulani communities is gaining momentum with little or no state response.
From June 21 to 22, no fewer than 20 Fulani men were reportedly killed and over 200 cattle either shot or maimed in parts of Benue State, particularly in the southern axis of Makurdi, allegedly by armed Tiv ethnic militias. Displaced Fulani survivors, along with scattered cattle, are said to have fled into surrounding forests or crossed into nearby states including Nasarawa and Plateau.
Zagazola Makama gathered from credible sources that the targeted killings are part of the move by armed local militia to forcefully evict Fulani communities from Benue and consolidate ethnic control of rural territories. The same sources allege that some local politicians, community elders and traditional rulers have been quietly supporting this campaign by arming militias and enlisting the assistance of retired and serving security personnel.
“These attacks are not spontaneous. There is coordination and a clear agenda to arm one side while portraying the conflict as a one-sided aggression,” Most of the people just consider every Fulani person as a bandits including their cows,”a senior security official, who pleaded anonymity, said.
The same weekend, in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, 12 persons, mostly women and children were killed in another tragic episode of communal reprisal. They were passengers on an 18-seater bus from the Basawa community in Zaria, Kaduna State, en route to a wedding in Quan’an Pan LGA. The victims reportedly lost their way and sought directions before being attacked and killed. The vehicle was set ablaze, with some victims burnt inside.
The North Central states including Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi as
Well as Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina in the North West, have become a flashpoint of what analysts describe as a complex, multi-layered ethno-communal and ethno-religious conflict, primarily between sedentary farming communities and nomadic herders, most of them Fulani. While in the North West, the same pattern of attacks is currently occurring between the Fulani and the Hausa where the local militia known as Askarawa are defending their localities against incursions of the violent Fulani attackers.
Each side continues to nurse deep-seated grievances and sees attacks whether on villages or on herds as defensive or retaliatory. This entrenched mistrust is fuelling the local arms race, with both communities reportedly stockpiling small arms and light weapons (SALWs) in preparation for either defense or revenge.
The situation is increasingly being exploited by transnational jihadist networks. The al-Qaeda-linked Katiba Macina, a brigade of the Jama’a Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has reportedly made victimisation of Fulani communities a key ideological recruitment tool. This has also driven many disenchanted Fulani youths already victims of communal violence into the arms of extremist groups spreading from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger into Nigeria’s North.
The failure to address the killings of none violent Fulani people with the same urgency as attacks on farming communities is creating a perception of state complicity or bias. This imbalance in response is dangerous. Despite the gravity of the unfolding crisis, there appears to be a deafening silence from state governments and other response agencies regarding attacks on Fulani communities. This inaction is fueling suspicion and resentment, further stoking the flames of mutual distrust, more attacks and hostility inform of revenge.
We called for urgent government intervention not only through security deployments but also through a public denunciation of all forms of violence regardless of the ethnic identity of victims or perpetrators.
We also advise the identification and arrest of known sponsors of local militias, including politicians and traditional leaders reportedly using public influence to deepen the divide. Such steps, are necessary to break the cycle of violence and restore confidence in government’s neutrality.
As it stands, the North Central region teeters dangerously on the edge of widespread sectarian escalation, with the twin threats of community rearmament and external jihadist infiltration converging in a volatile mix.
Unless urgent and balanced action is taken to address the grievances of all affected communities, Nigeria risks sliding further into a conflict that will be far more difficult and costlier to contain.
20 Fulani men killed and over 200 cattle either shot or maimed as Circle of violence deepens in North Central Nigeria
Security forces in Niger rescue three kidnapped victims in Mashegu LGA
By: Zagazola Makama
Three victims abducted by armed bandits in Aworo village, Mashegu Local Government Area, Niger State, have been successfully rescued.
Zagazola learnt on Feb. 5 at about 10:00 p.m., unknown armed bandits invaded Aworo village via Leaba Zugurma District and abducted Alhaji Ladan Abubakar, 65, Basira Abubakar, 18, and Jamila Abubakar, 24, all of the same address, taking them into the National Park forest in the Zugurma sector.
On Feb. 8 at about 2:00 a.m., a team of policemen led by the DPO Ibbi, alongside local vigilantes and hunters, traced the kidnappers to their hideout. The bandits engaged the team in a fierce gun duel but were overwhelmed.
All three victims were rescued successfully. Alhaji Ladan Abubakar sustained a gunshot injury to the head and was rushed to the Primary Health Care Centre in Ibbi, where he is responding to treatment.
Police said monitoring and intelligence operations are being sustained to prevent further attacks in the area.
Security forces in Niger rescue three kidnapped victims in Mashegu LGA
Crime
NDLEA Arrests Brazil Returnee with Cocaine Hidden on Body, Seizes Nearly 10 Tonnes of Drugs Nationwide
NDLEA Arrests Brazil Returnee with Cocaine Hidden on Body, Seizes Nearly 10 Tonnes of Drugs Nationwide
By: Michael Mike
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Onyekwere, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
Onyekwere, 47, was apprehended last Thursday, at the airport’s arrival hall during the inward screening of passengers on a South African Airways flight from Brazil via Johannesburg. NDLEA officials acted on intelligence that led to his selection for further checks.
A body scan conducted on the suspect indicated the presence of concealed substances. A subsequent strip search uncovered a large wrap of a white powdery substance, later confirmed to be cocaine, strapped to his right thigh. Further examination revealed two additional wraps hidden inside the soles of the flat shoes he was wearing.
In total, NDLEA officers recovered three wraps of cocaine weighing 1.6 kilogrammes.
During questioning, the suspect reportedly admitted purchasing the drugs in Brazil with plans to sell them in Nigeria. He claimed the proceeds were intended to expand his business and support the naming ceremony of his newborn child. Onyekwere, who resides in São Paulo, Brazil, said he has lived there since 2008 and has operated a toy business for several years.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan Seaport, Lagos, intercepted a container shipment last Wednesday, uncovering 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud, a potent cannabis strain, weighing 1,183 kilogrammes.
According to a statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, the drugs, imported from Montreal, Canada, were concealed inside a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix vehicle and was discovered during a joint inspection involving NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies.
In Niger State, NDLEA officers intercepted a long-haul truck along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway in the early hours last Tuesday. Three suspects—Andy Chidogu (49), Kenneth Ogene (45), and Sadiq Olanrewaju (27)—were arrested with 176 bags of skunk cannabis weighing 2,735 kilogrammes, alongside one kilogramme of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis variant.
Babafemi said investigations revealed that the truck driver, Kenneth Ogene, had transported flour from Lagos to Ekpoma, Edo State, before agreeing to convey the illicit drugs for a fee of ₦1.7 million.
He said further operations in Edo State led to the arrest of Shaibu Yusuf on the Auchi–Abuja Expressway with 66 bags of skunk weighing 792 kilogrammes concealed in charcoal bags.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives, supported by personnel of the Nigerian Army, raided a cannabis farm at Ebora Camp in Ilushi, Esan South East Local Government Area, destroying over 4,063 kilogrammes of skunk cultivated on 1.6 hectares of land. An additional 328 kilogrammes of processed cannabis and seeds were recovered, while four suspects were arrested.
In Anambra State, NDLEA officers intercepted a cement-laden truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, last Wednesday. A search revealed 345.2 kilogrammes of skunk concealed among bags of cement. One of the occupants, Abum Okeke, 42, was arrested.
Babafemi said operations in Ondo State resulted in the arrest of two suspects in Akure North with 473 kilogrammes of skunk, while Kano State recorded the seizure of 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection from Abdullahi Usman. Another suspect, Musa Shuaibu, was arrested with 4,390 tramadol pills in Gaya area of the state.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Oragwan Ekene at Alaba with 15.5 kilogrammes of skunk en route to Anambra State. Additionally, 3.5 kilogrammes of cannabis were recovered from the luggage of a traveler arriving from Cotonou, Benin Republic, at the Seme border.
The spokesman said beyond enforcement activities, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaign across schools, religious institutions, workplaces, and communities nationwide during the week.
Commending the officers involved in the various operations, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged personnel across the country to sustain the balanced approach of drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction in the fight against substance abuse and trafficking.
NDLEA Arrests Brazil Returnee with Cocaine Hidden on Body, Seizes Nearly 10 Tonnes of Drugs Nationwide
Four abducted in bandit attack in Munya, Niger
By: Zagazola Makama
At least four persons were abducted by suspected armed bandits in Munya Local Government Area of the state.
Sources said the incident occurred at about 10:45 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30, when bandits invaded Siyona community via Mangorota, Kabula Ward in Munya LGA.
Sources said the attackers kidnapped four residents of the community and took them to an unknown destination.
The victims were identified as Iya Bulus, 20; Lami Bulus, 30; Ayelo Elisha, 15; and Soja Elisha, 15. They are all members of the Siyona–Mangorota community and of the Bagyi ethnic group.
The source said information about the attack was received at about 11:00 p.m. the same night. On receipt of the information, the troops of the Nigerian Army, police and vigilante personnel were swiftly mobilized to the scene.
The sources added that on arrival, the bandits had already fled with their captives.
According to the sources, intensive monitoring and intelligence gathering are ongoing to ensure the safe rescue of the victims and the arrest of the perpetrators.
Four abducted in bandit attack in Munya, Niger
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