The Niger State government on Sunday disclosed that rampaging Fulani herdsmen have killed 37 villagers in some communities in the Niger East Senatorial District.
The state government disagreed with the police that they have brought the situation under control by flushing out the Fulani marauders from the affected communities.
Speaking on the rising Fulani herdsmen’s attack, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Niger East Matters, Mr. Pius Wakili, said that contrary to the police report, the armed herdsmen were having a field day as they have killed 37 people in Allawa, Galadima Kogo, Erena and other villages in the senatorial district.
Wakili said the Fulani herdsmen were still on the prowl in several villages in the Niger East Senatorial District – with dangerous weapons.
Wakili, a former member of the State House of Assembly, said that it was not true that the police have been able to curb the movement of the Fulani herdsmen or chase them away from the various forests where they launched the first attack early this year.
He said: “We have reports from most villages that these cattle rustlers carrying AK-47 rifles are moving freely in forests in Allawa, Galadima Kogo, Erena and other villages.
“About 37 people were reported to have been killed in several attacks on these villages by these herdsmen while several properties were destroyed”.
The governor’s aide therefore called on the Joint Security Task Force on Cattle Rustling “to intensify surveillance patrol in villages across Zone B Senatorial District of Niger State as these armed herdsmen suspected to be rustlers have begun to hibernate in the areas months after they were dislodged.”
He commended the Joint Task Force for curtailing the activities of cattle rustlers but noted that the reappearance of the “thieves” had become a source of concern to the villagers who can no longer go to their farms.
“There is the need for security men to intensify patrols of the areas because our people have been noticing movements of armed men, some without cows parading the villages with sophisticated weapons,” Wakili said.
When contacted, the State Command Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elikana, said that the authorities were just hearing of the report and “we will investigate it and act appropriately.”
Elikana said that the Joint Task Force was still carrying out its operation of monitoring the forest.
•Sourced from The AUTHORITY. Photo shows Fulani herdsmen.
