Exposed; How Soldiers Assisted herdsmen Killings

ABUJA-That the menace of Fulani herdsmen is still not a problem to the
Nigeria Military and Government in a Country where the best Military
men are been posted to battle unarmed Civilians in the South East is
still an issue that is troubling the minds of many Nigerians.
But if the series of revelations coming out of the Presidential
Panal investigating Abuses against the Military in the North Central
and Nigeria is anything to go by, then the Fulani herdsmen certainly
going to be with in Nigeria for a far longer years than we expected as  they
seem to be working hands in hands with special forces in the Military
to perfect their attacks.

This much was revealed by several of the speakers in the sitting
of the Presidential Panel on Military abuses in the North Central.

 According to numerous expose, the Military was accused by almost
all speakers of working hand in hand with the Fulani Marauders to
attack, kill, rape and displaced almost all the Villages in the North
Central that they attacked.

In several cases the Military was said to have taken over the job
of espionage for the Fulani men and in other occasions they  not only
assisted in the killing and looting but protected by the Military
against the Communities.

In some extreme cases the Military stylishly raid the communities in
search of illegal weapons which are carted away for the Marauding
herdsmen to strike almost few hours after the Military search team
leaves.

According to the revelations by one Jacob Kwakiper against the
93 Military Battalion in Takum  “The Military and Fulani headsmen work
as a team to kill, maim, rape and loot our communities as severally
we see known Military personnel and officers who were part of the
search and Patrol team also with the Fulanis in most of their attacks
and exploit”.

Another witness   Agbo Uttah like several others also told the Panel
how several known   Military men were seen in the midst of the
Fulanis that carried out attacks and killing in their communities
for over five years in moon Valley  and several others in Kwande Local
Government with several communities wiped out and Fulani’s living in
the said communities with the military and government doing nothing
but looking the other way.

In  the his words “the Fulani men seem to be Government unto
themselves as they move into communities with Nigeria Military men
either looking the other way or assisting them where the communities
seem stronger than the herdsmen. In other cases the Military supply
arms and uniforms and even partake in almost all the attack prompting
us to ask if the Military is now a Fulani force”

In Delta State, Abraka Fulani herdsmen killing and maiming, the locales said that a private helicopter was caught landing in the herdsmen location in deep Abraka forest. The Abraka case is one of the many coordinated massacres by Fulani herdsmen supervised by the military which made the Fulani herdsmen to kill with impunity.

The lawmaker representing Ethiope East in Delta State House of Assembly, Evance Ivwurie, has raised alarm over fears that an unidentified helicopter was always landing inside the Ovre-Abraka desert of the state where thousands of herdsmen and their cattle reside.

Ivwurie, who launched his Operation Arrest, Meet and Engage Their Sponsor, campaign against herdsmen in his constituency last year, described the desert land across the River Ethiope known as Ovre-Abraka as a time-bomb waiting to explode owing to the activities of herdsmen in the area.

Making the disclosure during a security meeting with stakeholders of the area at Abraka, the lawmaker said information at his disposal indicates that the desert had become a safe haven for herdsmen numbering over 2, 000.

He said: “If you go there, there are more than 5,000 cattle with more than 2,000 herdsmen dwelling in the place. “They carry all kind of weapons and many unwholesome activities are going on there. I am aware of this and have taken the liberty to report the issue to the state government. “In that place, a helicopter is always landing from time to time and we do not know what is going on there. The government needs to look into the issue critically because we fear that one of these days, the herdsmen may decide to cross the river and invade the community.”

Will all these exposes help curb the Fulani herdsmen expansionist
policy, the military assistance, or the Government lackadaisical
attitude in taming the menace of the headsmen?

This and many more questions are what many Nigerians are asking as the
Panel sitting continues.