BENUE KILLINGS: Scrap anti-open grazing law now, Miyetti Allah tells Gov Ortom, amidst agony of a father

*We are pushed to the wall – Badejo

*Attempt to tag murdered herders bandits joke, false – Doma LG Chairman

*Confirms innocence of victims, puts number of deaths above 50

*Says they were Fulani pastoralists invited to collect their seized cows

*How I lost 9 children to airstrikes after paying N6m – Fulani Leader

*Relatives blame Benue Gov for killings

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

Barely a week after the sad event of military airstrikes that killed over 48 Fulani herders on Nasarawa/Benue states boundary community of Rukubi, in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, the National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Abdullahi Badejo, has asked the Benue State governor to, as a matter of urgency, scrap the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law to prevent continued disagreement between his government and the herders.

The herders’ group leader made the demand when he visited the Nasarawa State Government House, Lafia, last Thursday as he led over 200 leaders of Fulani groups to meet the state Governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, to register their anger on the incident that has remained indefensible.

Badejo accused Governor Ortom of conspiracy against the Fulani pastoralists by implementing the anti-open grazing law which he said had made life difficult for herdsmen in the state.

He said, “The Fulani people have been pushed to the wall by incessant attacks, particularly in Benue State, as a result of anti-open grazing law, and I want to say it here today that an injury to one Fulani is an injury to the entire Fulani community in Africa.

“We have so far lost 40 Fulani to the attack, and as I speak to you now, 15 others are receiving treatment in various hospitals in Nasarawa State.

“Nine persons were killed in a single family during the attack. We are peace-loving people and we do not want any confrontation.

“The anti-grazing law that was established by Governor Samuel Ortom is the reason for all the challenges that we are facing. The law should be scrapped because it was made by humans and not God. It is only when it is scrapped that all these challenges will come to an end.”

Badejo added that so many cows were still in the custody of the Benue State Government and urged Governor Ortom to immediately release them to the owners.

Chairman of Doma Local Government, Mr Ahmed Sarki-Usman, who also reacted, confirmed the incident.

He debunked the rumour that those killed were bandits, saying they were Fulani pastoralists who went to retrieve their cows seized by the Benue State Government after payment of fines.

The council chairman disclosed that no fewer than 50 people were still missing, adding that those that were confirmed dead were 35 at the scene of the bombing and that about 15 people were receiving medication in various hospitals.

He further said that, “The authority of Doma LGA had met with the state government and the leadership of Fulani pastoralists with a view to finding a lasting solution to the present situation.

He assured the people of the area, especially the Fulani pastoralists, that peace would return to Doma soonest.

According and Daily Trust, relatives of the “wickedly” terminated souls, while expressing their ordeal, blamed the Benue State Governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom, for being an antagonist of the Fulani in the state under his administration.

The DEFENDER recalls that the Fulani herders were killed by military airstrikes allegedly identified to be carried out by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

The victims were said to have returned from a boundary community in Benue State to their domain in Nasarawa State after retrieving their cows, which were seized under the Benue State Anti-Grazing Law.

They claimed that they were made to pay more than N29 million as fine and were asked to convey their cows back in trucks and that it was while they were offloading the animals that they were bombed, their accounts clarified how and where the attack took place – at Kwatre Angulu in Rukubi, Doma, the headquarters of Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

I lost 9 children – Bello

In the meantime, a report by Daily Trust published on Tuesday, has narrated an agonising story of a 60-year-old Alhaji Alfa Bello, who said that he lost nine children in the unfortunate military airstrikes.

Alhaji Bello narrated in Lafia, on Sunday that he was at home when one of his sons informed him that the Benue State Livestock Guards had arrested his cows and took them to Lanta in Benue State. He said he paid N6 million as fine to retrieve the cows and still lost his children.

Alhaji Alfa Bello further said that it was while the animals were being offloaded from the trucks that brought them back that the military airstrikes took place killing his nine children and those who came to assist in the offloading.

He explained that, “Benue State Livestock Guards arrested my cows and took them to Lanta area of the state. I went there and retrieved my cows, and while offloading them at Kwatan Angulu in Rukubi in Doma LGA, all of a sudden an airstrike came from nowhere and killed my nine children, including my cows.”

“Also, among those who were killed were 15 drivers who conveyed the cows from Benue.

“The death of my children has demoralised me. All my strength has finished. All my hope has been shattered. Those that killed my nine children have finished me.

“The bomb has destroyed all I had laboured for. Where do I start from? I have lost everything that I had laboured for in just one day. Since the sad incident happened I have not been eating. In fact, I was put on drip.”

He, therefore, appealed to both the federal and Nasarawa State governments to come to his aid to enable him pay the medical bills of the injured persons.

Also narrating his ordeal to our correspondent, Adamu Abdullahi (30), said they paid N1m on each cow as fine.

Abdullahi, who has two wives and 10 children, said they were offloading the cows when the airstrike happened and that many people and their cows were killed.

He said among those killed were 15 drivers who conveyed the cows from Benue.

He explained that, “I ran when I heard the blast and in the process I fell and dislocated my left hand. I am also experiencing pains in my chest, legs and stomach. I am appealing to the federal and state governments to please come to our aid.’’

He said he was the breadwinner of his family and that since the incident nobody was taking care of his family, especially his aged mother.

Also speaking to our correspondent, Isah Aliyu-Musa, who is nursing his two brothers, Usman Bawa and Ibrahim Hassan, at the Aboki Hospital in Lafia, said N27m was paid as fine before the victims retrieved their cows.

He wondered why they were attacked as there had not been any misunderstanding between the pastoralists and any farmer in Benue State.

He said, “There was no any misunderstanding between the Fulani herders and Benue State farmers. So, I wonder why the military aircraft came to bomb our people. The livestock guards from Benue State took our cows all in the name of their anti-grazing law.

“This is a terrible situation that has ever happened to us. The military aircraft bombed our people like animals. What kind of leadership do we have in our country where some group of people take laws into their hands and start killing people at will as if they are not human beings?’’