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IN LESS than a month after about 60 security operatives were killed by a spiritual group, Ombatse, in Alakyo village, an outskirt of Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, the state again boiled last Tuesday.
The day being the June 4, 2013, would certainly not be forgotten in a hurry by the people of Rukubi community in Doma local government area of Nasarawa State, as it marked a moment the community had its own share of the bitter experience emanating from the insecurity that has continued to bedevil the Solid Minerals state in recent years.
On the fateful day, no fewer than 17 persons including women and children were reportedly feared dead in an attack carried out by unknown gunmen suspected to be aggrieved Tiv farmers against the community dominated by the Agatu ethnic nationality. But reports as of yesterday further indicated that the death toll has risen beyond the earlier quoted figure.
Information reaching Friday Magazine as at yesterday indicated that more corpses were being recovered from the surrounding bushes when the state Deputy Governor, Damishi Barau Luka led government delegation on an on-the-spot assessment of the level of damage caused by the incident.
It was learnt that the attackers who stormed the community at about 5: 30 am, well armed with sophisticated weapons on the black Tuesday, reportedly opened fire on their victims, killing over 17 persons while several others sustained varying degrees of gunshot and machetes wounds during the bloody attack.
It would be recalled that the incident happened barely three weeks after the gruesome murder of over 60 security operatives in Alakyo village of Lafia local government area of the state who were on a special mission to arrest the high priest of Ombatse spiritual group, as well raid a suspected armoury belonging to the group.
Although no reasons have been ascertained for the attack, sources suggested that the action may not be unconnected with series of allegations levelled against the Agatu people by their Tiv counterpart, accusing them (Agatu) of harboring Fulani mercenaries to attack the Tiv people in the area.
Besides, there has also been allegation that some prominent personalities in the state who take undue advantage of crisis ituations to enrich themselves at the detriment of the vulnerable members of the society had hired mercenaries from Mali Republic who have been fighting the Tiv people over the last two and half years, allegedly with the sole aim of eliminating them from the state on the grounds that the Tivs are not indigenes of the state.
In Nasarawa South Senatorial district, especially in Ekye development area of Doma local government area, where there have been persistent communal clashes involving the Fulani/farmers, mostly of the Eggon, Tiv and Koro ethnic nationalities, the people in the affected villages such as Doka, Ankoma, Ajimaka Rukubi Gidan Rail, Ankoma among other communities have remained deserted as inhabitants of such areas have not been allowed by herdsmen and their alleged collaborators to
return to their ancestral homes since the outbreak of the crisis.
Sources alleged that some Agatu and Alago ethnic militia men from the state, were among the over fifteen mercenaries arrested recently by military operatives deployed to keep peace at different locations in neighboring villages of Guma local government area of Benue State, while attacking and killing innocent villagers, most of whom were women and children.
Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura had in March this year embarked on the
evacuation of internally displaced persons to their original homes, but the effort proved abortive, as the destruction of lives and property by the perpetrators continued. Several attempts by the local farmers to resettle down for normal farming activities according to one of the victims, who simply gave his name as Tacha, have been resisted by the herdsmen and their collaborators.
Findings revealed that no fewer than 18,000 thousand farmers, mostly of the Eggon and Tiv ethnic nationalities, are still taking refuge at different communities within and outside the state as all efforts by the state government to bring the ugly situation to an end has not yielded the desired results.
But contrary to insinuations that Tiv militiamen were responsible for the Rukubi attack, President, Tiv Youth Organisation in the state, Hon. Peter Igbacher Kwembe dismissed the allegation, insisting that “no Tiv man is in the area as I speak to you now, they have been forced out of their ancestral homes for the past two years. So how would somebody in his right senses raise such an allegation that has no base?
Kwembe described the allegation as a calculated attempt to further hurt the Tiv people as well as give them a bad name in order to hang them and make them a subject of further attacks in places where they have been taking refuge in the last two years.
According to the him, “It is possible that the Fulanis had after succeeding in sacking the Tiv people, resorted to taking arms against their collaborators whom perhaps, have decided to break away from their roles in the attacks against the Tiv people”.
Friday magazine recalled that for the past one month, a similar attack against farmers by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Awe local government area, also in the Southern Senatorial district of the state, has led to wanton destruction of lives and property including farm crops just as over 7,000 farmers has fled their homes for safety.
When sought to obtain comments on the matter from the state commissioner of Police, Umar Shehu, on the position of the command on the persistent clashes, the state Police boss rather disappointed by refusing to comment despite the gravity of the insecurity situation, as he neither pick phone calls nor text messages put to his mobile phone as at the time of going to press.
Early last month, 7th of May to be precise, about ten members of the State Security Service and 46 policemen were killed in a most gruesome manner by the Ombatse spiritual group in Alakyo village in Lafia local government area of the state. It was soon after the killings that President Goodluck Jonathan opted to declare a state of emergency in three states of the North, namely, Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, in which Nasarawa State escaped narrowly as a result of interventions of prominent sons of the state and other stakeholders.
Governor Al-Makura was also said to have relocated to the Presidency during the period to ensure that Nasarawa was removed from the list of states to be affected by emergency rule.
One thing that has continued to agitate the minds of the people of Nasarawa State following the Tuesday attack is the governor’s absence
in the state soon after the incident reportedly occurred.
An observer and public affairs analyst in the state who spoke with our
correspondent but preferred to be anonymous, recalled that the governor has always travelled out of the state each time there was an outbreak of crisis in any part of the community, regretting that the attitude of the state governor towards the security of lives and properties of the citizenry whom he had sworn an oath to protect was not encouraging.
According to him, “We have observed that each time there is trouble in
the state, our governor would leave immediately and come back after spending a number of days out of the state. In almost all the communities that were affected by crisis in the state, it has always happened when the Governor was on ground, but then he would always travel upon hearing such problem”.
This development has further generated tension among the people of the state as Doma, the headquarters of Doma local government area of the state has continued to witness an influx of internally displaced persons who fled their homes for fear of possible reprisal attack.