Ayo Oyoze Baje
“Thou shalt not kill- Exodus Chapter 20 verse 13
Ordinarily, the alarming rate of the killing spree of innocent citizens in Benue State, mainly the Agatus, allegedly by fully armed Fulani herdsmen over the past decade, from the tenure of Gabriel Suswan through that of Samuel Ortom to the current governor, Hyacinth Alia, should be a source of worry to concerned Nigerians. What could be the root causes of the long-winding macabre dance of death, reasons behind the apparent failure of the security operatives to rein in the blood-thirsty monsters and of course, sustainable solutions to it all?
That sorry situation would perhaps explain the piece of recent admonition given by the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, to President Bola Tinubu to shelve whatever he is still doing in France and return to the country because over 150 Nigerians have died in his absence. It should send a warning signal on the dire situation of insecurity still ravaging parts of the country. That includes states such as Zamfara, Plateau and of course, Benue. It would be recalled that Obi intended to pay visits to parts of Benue State embroiled with the killings of fellow citizens and physically express his sympathy. However, the state governor, Alia blocked that move. But what could his reasons be?
According to media reports, Alia warned that he cannot guarantee the safety of persons or groups visiting the state without his knowledge. And with regards to Obi’s request, the governor described it through his aide, Semaka, that he was planning a “political charity” visit. Beyond all the shenanigans, what should touch the hearts of patriotic Nigerians is the imperative of the capacity of our political leaders, through the security forces, to carry out their statutory functions of the protection of priceless human life and provide for their welfare. But turning Benue, once regarded as the “Food Basket of the Nation”, into the “Killing Field” of the country is unacceptable.
For instance, back in 2013, some Fulani invaders moved en masse from Loco and Doma in the neighbouring Nasarawa state and brutally sacked seven villages in Benue state. In the mindless mayhem that ensued, those villages were razed to rubble, while about 7,000 indigenes were thrown into disarray. The mindless mayhem was reportedly triggered by a revenge mission for the killing of a Fulani chieftain by some Agatus militia men. The attackers subsequently took over the villages to get their over 5,000 cattle well fed with the rich and fertile farmlands. Talk about an expansionist agenda to brazenly take over other people’s lands while still sending several of them to their untimely deaths. But that was not all there were to the inter-ethnic clashes.
Some two years later, in 2015, another set of Agatus, numbering over 50, fell victim to the heinous killings by Fulani herdsmen. That was according to media reports. But the then Commissioner of Police, Hyacinth Dagala, claimed that only 30 corpses were recovered. And in a similar scenario, in July 2018, about 400 Agatus were wiped off the surface of the earth by yet another set of armed Fulani herdsmen. That was according to Paul Ede, the coordinates of the civil society groups. But the Commissioner of Police, Benue state, at that time, Paul Yakadi, stated that: ” Only three corpses were seen in Aila and Adagbo”. Talk about painful facts and the shadowy figures released when it comes to providing information about human tragedies. So, the killings continued.
And on April 12, 2022, the media was awash with the gory and terrifying tale of how some armed Fulani herdsmen swooped on several villages in the same Benue state, killed 25 people and left many more injured. Fast forward to three years later, as the news item that made headlines was that of: ” Many feared dead, fresh Benue attack”. The report was of how armed herders invaded the Otobi community in the Akpa District of Otukpo LGA. A resident simply called Edwin Emma stated that the attacks have led to the mass exodus of the indigenes, including his wife and children. The ugly incident took place at about 5.30 pm on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, according to the lawmaker representing Otukpo -Akpa in Benue state House of Assembly, Kennedy Angbo. Many were reportedly killed, being the third of such attacks in the communities within the month of April.
What all these crimes against fellow Nigerian citizens amount to, is that of the gross failure of the security operatives and of course , the past and present administrations to identify and bring to justice the masterminds behind the serial killings. The other factor, which is similarly worrisome, is the seemingly “soft” treatment of the killers as if their lives are more precious than that of their voiceless victims.
This is not healthy for a nation whose leaders are preaching equity, justice and unity but have not been able to walk the talk. It goes far beyond mere rhetoric.
Much as one appreciates the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris, for deploying the Deputy IG Operations to Benue state on ‘Red Alert’ to find lasting solution to the killings, he and his team will succeed only if the criminals apprehended are brought to justice for all Nigerians to learn from their efforts. There should be no toe too big to be stepped on. None! That should be the moving mantra to the five units of the mobile force, the police special forces, those handling the police aerial surveillance helicopters and of course, the Special Police Intelligence and Investigative teams. So, for the 24-hour Crime Prevention and Visibility Patrols deployed to Benue state and other parts of the country to succeed, all hands must be on deck.
Sustained collaboration of the traditional rulers, the youth leaders, the religious helmsmen and the security operatives has become sine qua non to achieving the full protection of lives and property. Above all, anyone found to have had a hand in the deaths of innocent Nigerians must and must be brought to speedy justice. And no more should there be any so called spurious amnesty program for killers as if their lives are more precious than those whose precious lives they have wantonly wasted. Justice for one is justice for all.
As the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar 111, rightly noted, “We have complained enough about the killers. It is time for the military to kill the killers”. Also,
our political leaders should be guided by the 1999 Kampala Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa ( CSSDCA ), which focused on the importance of strengthening internal security. As the Lecture delivered by Mario Machungo highlighted, “Good Leadership Counts”.
