Posted on: 02:35 Sat, 12 Mar 2016



Fulani herdsmen, on Friday, shot at
the convoy of former Senate
President, David Mark, during his
assessment tour of the destroyed
Agatu communities in Benue State.

The former Senate President,
however, escaped unhurt.

Mark was in company with the
erstwhile Minister of Interior,
Comrade Abba Moro; a member
House of the Representatives for
Ohimini/Otukpo, Constituency,
Honourable Ezekiel Adaji, security
aides, journalists and party
supporters during the tour of the
eight communities.

The communities are Aila, Akwu,
Okokolo, Adagbo, Akwu, Ogboju
and Odugbeho, which have been
destroyed by Fulani herdsmen.

The convoy was at Akwu
community when some fleeing
herdsmen sighted the convoy and
shot at it, causing members of the
lawmaker’s convoy to scamper for
safety.

The security men attached to the
convoy were ordered to remain
calm and not exchange fire. The
former Senate President thereafter
ordered that the convoy continue to
move.

Eight communities were totally
destroyed and deserted except
Odugbeho, which was again
attacked on Thursday evening.

Speaking to some survivors in one
of the communities, Mark regretted
the wanton destructions, which he
described as “unimaginable” and
called on the people to remain
calm.

One of the community’s youth
leaders, Michael, who spoke at Aila,
lamented what he called the porous
security in Agatu Local Government
Area and asked the former Senate
President to tell the president to
remove the soldiers as “we are
competent now to defend
ourselves.”

The youth in the communities
accused state governor, Chief
Samuel Ortom, of not visiting the
affected areas. They added that
when the deputy governor, Benson
Abounu, visited the areas, he only
stopped at Apa, where the
displaced persons are camped.

But Mark appealed to the youth to
keep the peace and remain law-
abiding as he promised to relate
what he had seen to the
government for prompt action.
Meanwhile, Governor Ortom has
raised the alarm on the escalation
of attacks on his people by the
Fulani herdsmen.

The governor, in raising the alarm,
declared that Boko Haram’s
terrorism was becoming a child’s
play, compared to the atrocities of
Fulani herdsmen.

Governor Ortom disclosed this on
Friday in Makurdi while
administering oath of office on the
President, Customary Court of
Appeal (CCA), Justice Cosmos Idye
and a High Court judge, Justice
Augustine Ityonyiman.

He disclosed that the Federal
Government had approved the
deployment of soldiers to the state
to end the lingering farmers/
herdsmen crisis in the state.

He said the invasion of some
communities by Fulani herdsmen
in the state was becoming
worrisome adding that “more Local
Government Areas are being
attacked on daily basis.”

“As we speak, the Fulanis have
started moving out of Agatu to
other parts of the state.

“What we are witnessing today in
Benue is more than what happened
in the North-East,” he said.

He said that Agatu, Logo, Tarka,
Buruku, and Kwande were all
under attack by the Fulani
mercenaries.

Ortom charged the judiciary
nationwide to support government
anti-corruption crusade through
effective and timely dispensation of
justice.

In a remark, the CCA President
pledged to uphold the Constitution
and judicial ethics in the discharge
of his duties.

According to him, there was peace
in the past because there were
cattle grazing routes but with the
Federal Government working in
conjunction with states and local
governments, peace will be restored
in the communities.

“Security is a continuous process. It
is the duty of every government to
guarantee safety of lives and
property. This government is
committed to that,” Adesina said.
Let’s stop eating cow meat —8-yr-
old survivor “If I have my way, no
one should be eating cow meat
again. If this happens, I hope it will
stop the killing in Agatu.” These
were the words of an eight-year-