Fulani bandits runs amok in Kogi East, govt. culpable – Uja’Ache

The leadership of Uja’Ache Citizens’ Mandate, a socio – political Organisation based in Kogi State, has called on the Federal Government to urgently intervene in the orgy of killings in Kogi East or the citizens will be compelled to defend themselves.

The call was made as part of the resolutions from an emergency meeting on Sunday in Lokoja, state capital as contained in its press release to newsmen.

The leadership and members of Uja’Ache Group are amazed at the recurrent dastardly killings going on in Agojeju – Odo and other Omala LGA communities by Fulani herdsmen killers after taken possession of Bagana and Iyade township, always laying seize to victims.

President of Uja’Ache Citizens Mandate, Alh. Idris Isah, who said though, he is not unaware of the helplessness of the Federal Government Security agents in taming the ravaging Fulani herdsmen killers in Kogi East, Kogi West, Benue, Plateau States and virtually every part of North Central states, where innocent citizens are slaughtered freely in the last ten years warned that, citizens are already compelled to use any means in defending themselves in the absence of Federal Government urgent intervention.

He however blamed the state government under former Governor Yahaya Bello for the outbreak of epidemic of Fulani militia, their violence and the ordeals of people of Kogi East, for his hostility and mischievous invitation of thousands of herdsmen to that part of the state.to wreak havoc.

Isah said,”precisely on 30th January, 2024, the herdsmen killers now on a permanent occupation in Iyade and Bagana villages, extended their annexation to another village, Agojeju – Odo, all in Omala LGA, killing four men, one of whom was beheaded, while they lay seize, anxious to kill more”.

“Fulani bandits’ permanent occupation of Omala, Dekina, Bassa LGAs in Igala/ Bassa Land, the heart of Igala Kingdom, started in 2017, barely a year the former Governor Yahaya Bello was first sworn in as Governor of Kogi State, at the peak of Fulani herdsmen clash with farmers across the country, and President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s ‘Rugar Agenda’ in place, in preference for popular ‘Cattle Ranching’.

Former Governor Yahaya Bello, while in his comfort with tranquilizing drug of bitterness, called on all hostile Fulani bandits and their cattle, facing rejections in many state of the country, to come to harbour in Kogi State, and he eventually deployed them into an extensive forest in Igala kingdom, bounding Omala, Bassa and Dekina Local Government Areas, where shortly and sadly, they became agents of death to the people, ravaging the multiple villages with AK47 riffles, double barrel guns and knives, eating farmers’ crops and terrorising them, raping their women with no security agents to the peoples’ rescue”.

“In this disturbing period of cacophony, the herdsmen militia squared up, attacked Agbenema town, killed the village monarch, HRH, Chief Musa Edibo (Onu Okemu) and four others, with similar killings in Opada, Ajichekpa, Iyade villages, while an ancient riverine town of Bagana all in Omala LGA, with an ancient national market was totally demolished after killings and the killer herdsmen took over possession of the town till date, with just an initial cosmetic but short-lived intervention by security agents then”.

“The orgy of death was not less pronounced at, Oganenigu town, with villages of Ajomayegbi, Ajomojayi and Agojeju in Dekina LGA, where over thirty five people were massacred, with widespread Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs,). The people of Kpanche, Ikende in Bassa LGA and Olowa and Okete in Dekina LGA are all having sleepless night on account of herdsmen killers terrorising their host communities at slightest provocation, while partnering with other Fulani crossing in over River Benue from Nassarawa State”.

“Governor Yahaya Bello has never hidden his disdain for the Igala/ Bassa majority ethnic nationality for their alleged occupation of Lugard house over the years and rejections of his candidature for Governorship and so, haven accidentally inherited electoral mandate of late Prince Abubakar Audu (an Igala man) after his death, Bello became powerfully drunken with venom of vengeance to strip Igala/Bassa politically naked across their political leadership and civil service with unimaginable vendetta, and desire to depopulate the senatorial zone by any means, if he had his way”.

“By the December 2017, less than a week after the killing of 73 Agatu and Tiv people and maiming of over two hundred others in Benue state by suspected Fulani herdsmen, Yahaya Bello had pragmatically mobilised his colleagues to the Presidential Villa, to not only endorse President Muhammadu Buhari for second term bid a head of 2019 presidential elections but smuggled himself into a 10 – member committee set up by National Economic Council to wet the ground for the establishment of Cattle Colonies for which, he Yahaya Bello without due consultations with state’s political and traditional leaders, offered Kogi State as a pilot state for the establishment of Cattle Colonies, with Kogi East LGAs been earmarked, which but generated severe tension in Kogi State”.

“The lonely voice that obviously and ferociously fought to a standstill his Colony agenda were the leadership of youth and socio-political Organisations in Kogi East (Igala/Bassa land), one led by Mr. Atayi Babs; Ojuju Agbadufu Igala and another by a Kogi East Community Leader, Alhassan Ejike and later complemented by Sen. Dino Melaye from Kogi West, with the leadership of both senatorial zones, threatening fire and brimstone through multiple petitions to the presidency, never to concede an inch of their land for colonies for herdsmen that were already killing and maiming their citizens. This citizens’ actions, Yahaya Bello felt was injurious to his person”.

“It was apparent that hundreds of thousands of Fulani herdsmen recalcitrantly imported by Yahaya Bello to Kogi State for his heinous, calamitous presidential political agenda, were forced over the 21 LGAs Chairmen and Traditional Council of Chiefs to constitute their representatives into a ‘LGAs Council of Traditional Meetings’ failure of which attracted sacking and dethroning of the affected LGA chairmen and traditional rulers that flouted his directive. These archaic policies he put in place to be seen, as extraordinarily hospitable to Fulani and so, to placate president Muhammadu Buhari to endorse him for president in 2023, is not only sadistic, overjealous but dwarf minded thinking of a failed leader”.

“Most of these herdsmen today have continued to constitute themselves as menaces by either massacring farmers and their households or kidnaping them and even with passersby for ransom payments in the state, especially, in Omala, Dekina, Bassa LGAs and various parts of Kogi East, the Igala Kingdom and Ajaokuta surbubs”.

“Surprisingly, the newly appointed Sole Administrator for Omala Local Government Area in Kogi State, Hon. Edibo Ameh Mark has allegedly summoned a stakeholders meeting comprising, selected political leaders and traditional rulers in Omala LGA and a swarm of Fulans herdsmen invited from the forests, led by their state chairman for an emergency meeting at Abejukolo Council Hall, last week, where he inaugurated a LGA Stakeholders Peace Committee, directing them to henceforth, be jointly holding stakeholders meetings on way forward in establishing peaceful co-existence in the local government area, an aberration that is archaic to Ife and indeed, the people of Omala LGA”.

‘In this concocted, imbecile, desecrate directive doled out by State Governor, Alh. Usman Ododo to Local Government Chairmen, where does the power of a Local Government Area Paramount traditional ruler, District Heads to summon a visitor, a Fulani man for query, who breaches the traditional and political rule (s) in the host communities lies? It’s indeed, a continuation of former Governor Yahaya Bello’s directive for inclusion of Fulani representatives in each of the 21 Local Government Traditional Council, an aberration that was dead on arrival.”

“The questions that is agitating the minds of the people of Omala is that, which group of LGA stakeholders did the newly appointed Sole Administrator, Hon. Edibo Ameh Mark consented with or invited to such highly populated Fulani herdsmen Extra – ordinary Stakeholders Security Meeting with the administrator of the Omala LGA? Is it the Apex Ife Development Association (IDA) leadership? Is it, Omala Traditional Council? a Leadership of the four districts of Omala? Is it, Omala Security Council? Is it, Kogi East Security Watch? Kogi East Elders Council (KEEC)? Is it the leadership of ICDA? All which are the key stakeholders of Omala and all Kogi East LGAs, all but claims ignorance of a plan for such meeting with Fulani militia group that were earlier imported to rain casualties mainly in the three LGAs of Kogi East”.

“The second question is, in all exhaustive efforts by hosts communities to broker peace where Fulani militia held sway, where has such inhabitants and Fulani Herdsmen Dialogue for peaceful co-existence successful with the Fulani militia keeping covenants or agreements with host communities without breach and instead, escalating the orgy of killings? Is it in Plateau? in Benue? In Taraba? In Kaduna or which state to take cue from?”

“I soberly pleads with Hon. Edibo Ameh Mark to go back and learn from the history of Fulani Jihad of Uthman Danfodio’s economic and political war, to gain control of resourceful states to their advantage and so, stop playing the established scripts of the state under the immediate past and present administration of Governor Ahmed Ododo in Kogi state, as posterity will judge them for establishing killing fields, by igniting horror and pogrom in Omala, Dekina, Bassa and Kogi East”.

“As long and sadly as the present Governor, Usman Ahmed Ododo shares same political umbilical cord and acting as a proxy Governor, these archaic policies of Yahaya Bello still well reverberating in his heart and accordingly, implanted in his stooges, proxy successor, would hardly proffer least solutions to the Fulani menace in Kogi East of the state”.

“I therefore warn that, it is time the Federal Government under President Ahmed Bola Tinubu should take an urgent and decisive action to halt another Benue, Plateau or Kaduna bloodletting in Kogi East especially, as no stranger (s) will be accommodated in any large kingdom like Igala/Bassa land, not staying for peace but killing and destroying their socio – economic livewire and expects peace. Except the peace of grave yard, as the inhabitants must defend their ancestral land, their cultural and socioeconomic lifeblood, if they remained unprotected by the state and the Federal might”.