TERRORIST HERDSMEN: SOAKING BABOONS AND MONKEYS IN BLOOD - Chima Ubochi

The time has arrived when patience becomes a crime and mayhem appears garbed in a manner of virtue - Edgar Rice Burroughs. 

If urgent steps were not taken on the issue, it would get to a stage when people would resort to self-help. I say it again, we are moving towards the precipices and the earlier we pull back (the better), and it requires all the stakeholders from the President and this is a bi-partisan issue, all major stakeholders must come together on how to resolve this issue - Governor Mimiko of Ondo State. 

Given the brutality of the slaughter and the intensity of the destruction of homes (including churches), it was clear the Enugu attack was carefully planned and clinically executed. Strangely, the president only broke his silence on Wednesday after the deed had been done. It apparently took the outrage expressed from a section of the country over the latest killings before the Commander-in-Chief formally deemed it necessary to direct a crackdown on these killing gangs - Louis Odion. 

It's very unfortunate that human lives are now worthless in Nigeria. The animalistic killings going on in the country have gotten out of hand. This article is not about the atrocities the Fulani herdsmen are unleashing all over Nigeria, as a lot has been written so far. This article is about unmasking those behind the invasion, the killings, the destruction, and then, deciphering the motive behind all these. Most of those causing pandemonium and deaths everywhere can't be the real Fulani herdsmen we used to know. 

For the undiscerning mind, the upsurge in violent destruction of lives and property are being committed by Fulani herdsmen looking for grass to feed their cattle. But, in reality, those committing those atrocities are not real Fulani herdsmen, but, fake Fulani herdsmen trained for a purpose. This group has nothing to do with cattle. I will explain soon. 

We all know that there have been isolated clashes between the Fulani herdsmen and farmers from time, but, the clashes have become deadly and heightened since Buhari became the president. What's the connection here? Before looking at this point, let's remember that in the 1970s and 1980s the Fulani herdsmen, as nomads, were always moving with their cattle from place to place, and in some places, the nomads made friends and stayed in peace with their host communities. Even children loved to rush out to watch them whenever they roamed across the villages with their cattle. Clashes then were seldom. 

Nowadays, there are frequent clashes between the herdsmen and farmers or villagers, and they are all ending in an orgy of killing, and the innocent farmers or their fellow villagers are always the victims. We're told that the Fulani herdsmen will enter people's farmland by force, and when challenged, they will get belligerent and will go on killing spree. But, most of these attacks took place at night, so nobody will tell me that the so called herdsmen were grazing their cattle at night, and, I'm not convinced that they were moving their cattle at night, because, we were told that the attack in Enugu State happened at night, and when the military arrived after the so called Fulani herdsmen have finished their killing spree in the community, they, the herdsmen, escaped. There's no way the herdsmen could have easily escaped, if they had their cattle with them, it then means that those who carried that attack in Enugu State had no cattle, and, are not herdsmen, but, people on a mission. 

President Buhari only condemned the attack days afterward, and his condemnation was too little and too late, it wasn't a serious one; and, it was only meant to fool gullible Nigerians. The president has failed until now to condemn the actions of his kinsmen. If he did what he was supposed to do all along, may be what happened in Enugu or Benue State could have been avoided. The president has also refused to visit any of the communities where mayhem was perpetrated by his Fulani kinsmen; and, his silence until now spoke louder than words, and, might have meant tacit approval of what his kinsmen have been doing. 

Do I have points to support my assertions that those carrying out the destruction of lives and property are not real Fulani herdsmen? Yes of course! The destruction we are seeing surpasses what ordinary cattle rearers can do. These are trained men unleashing their professional expertise on innocent people. On Wednesday, April 27, the Head, Defence Headquarters Committee on Persistent Clashes between Herdsmen and Farmers, Major General Edward Nze, paid a courtesy call on the acting Governor of Benue State, Benson Abounu, at the Benue Peoples House, where he rightly said that attacks on some communities could assume the menace of the Boko Haram dimension if not checked. If those marauding bands of killers and rapists are not stopped, they will metamorphose into something more sinister than Boko Haram, because, they will be using the claim of being herdsmen to penetrate everywhere and run roughshod over all parts of Nigeria. 

Just as General Nze noted, the clashes between herdsmen and farmers were beginning to threaten national security. And then, Abounu, the acting Benue State governor, made the point that the atrocities committed by the so called herdsmen; and, the dimension of the damage caused in Agatu and other communities in the state could not be said to have been perpetrated by the ordinary Fulani herdsmen, calling on the authorities for more investigation. In his words, according to newswire: "In Agatu LGA, more than six large communities were razed down and taken over by the herdsmen; we believe this is beyond some group of people seeking grazing land. We know that the constitution guarantees freedom of movement, it does not warrant burning of houses, killing and taking over the people's land. As we speak, same devastation has taken place in Tarka, Kwande, Logo and Buruku local government areas of the state. They kill in a most brutal manner. They are in black uniform, with AK 47 rifles. They are well trained; we believe they are from beyond Nigeria". 

Killers in black uniform can't be real Fulani herdsmen; and the AK-47 rifles they are brandishing were given to them for a purpose! 

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), on Thursday April 28, while condemning the attack on Ukpabi Nimbo Community in Enugu State, which it described as most unfortunate and barbaric, confirmed that the attackers are not real Fulani herdsmen, when it stated that "the traditional Fulani nomads have coexisted peacefully with their host communities and have been grazing their cattle for decades all over Nigeria without any such attacks". The ACF also called on security agencies to unmask the perpetrators of the heinous attacks, and warned that "Nigeria cannot afford to graduate from Boko Haram insurgency to an unwarranted attack by unknown gunmen alleged to be Fulani herdsmen". 

Remember that I wrote this excerpt few weeks ago: "Goodluck Jonathan said that his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian, and by conceding victory, Jonathan disarmed those, on both sides, who have geared up to fight no matter the outcome of that (2015) election. Those on Buhari's side wanted to go on in their killing spree, if, Buhari didn't "win", and, also, those on Jonathan's side wanted to fight, if, he didn't get a second term. But, Goodluck Jonathan disarmed the two groups by conceding early enough, and, no blood was shed". 

The point is that Buhari never thought he would win the 2015 election; he never dreamt of being the president of Nigeria. Even if Buhari saw the possibility of winning the election, by fair or foul means, but, it never crossed his mind that an incumbent president would concede victory, as that has never happened before in Nigeria, and, not being sure that he will ever be the president of Nigeria, even if he wins the election, was the reason Buhari was unprepared for leadership up till now. So, all Buhari's plan was to wreak havoc after the 2015 election. That was why he created this another group masquerading as Fulani herdsman, when in actual fact it was created and trained to raise havoc with Nigerians immediately after the election. 

Buhari has contested 3 presidential elections prior to the 2015 one he "won". Buhari also claimed that he won all the 3 previous elections he contested (2003, 2007 and 2011) but was rigged out. On May 14, 2012, Buhari, while addressing members of the CPC (his former political party) from Niger State, who paid him a courtesy visit in Kaduna, warned that 2015 would be bloody if the elections were not transparent. 

We leant that Buhari painted a gory picture of Nigeria as that of a hound and a monkey engaged in a battle for survival, and, he said: "God willing, by 2015, something will happen. They either conduct a free and fair election or they go a very disgraceful way. If what happened in 2011 (alleged rigging) should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog, the baboon and the monkey would all be soaked in blood''. These groups masquerading as Fulani herdsmen are those Buhari trained to soak the dog, the baboon and the monkey in blood, if he wasn't declared the winner in 2015. 

What happened was that after the groups were trained and equipped for the onslaught on Nigeria and Nigerians after the 2015 election that he, Buhari, was sure of losing, the groups were ready to strike, but, INEC rigged the election in favor of Buhari, and, he was on the verge of "winning" the election. Till this point (before Jonathan conceded through a phone call to Buhari), these heinous groups created, trained and equipped by Buhari to unleash mayhem were gearing up for action, but, were put out of use or were disarmed when Goodluck Jonathan conceded victory even before INEC announced the result of the election. What happened was that the members of the groups became disappointed and dejected, as they will not be useful again to their creator, and, will lose all they have been gaining and would gain from him. The group got disbanded. 

While Buhari still retained control over some of them, majority of the members of the killing groups scattered far and wide and out of Buhari's control. Many of the destruction we have witnessed or heard about were carried out by some members of those groups on the loose and out of Buhari's control, because, they are now fending for themselves, as they are not being taken care of again by the man who wanted to use them to wreak havoc. 

But, the members of the groups still under Buhari's control were those who carried out the attack at Ukpabi Nimbo, a community in the Uzo-Uwani area of Enugu State. The attack was well planned and well coordinated and couldn't have been carried out by ordinary Fulani herdsmen. We just read that the Caretaker Chairman, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, Mr. Cornel Onwubuya, said he personally alerted the governor, the commissioner of police, and, heads of other security agencies after he received a confirmation from some Fulani leaders in the area that the herdsmen were going to attack the community. 

Hear him: "We had a security report that this was going to happen and I convened a meeting with Fulani stakeholders in Enugu State. Some Fulani leaders told us that the herdsmen were camped very close to our community. I informed the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, who assured us that the attack would be stopped. He (Commissioner of Police, Enugu) said he would get in touch with the Commissioner of Police in Kogi State to prevent the attack. The information we got was credible but unfortunately, they still attacked us". 

You can see, from the above statement, that the real Fulani herdsmen co-operated with the people of the area, and, were not part of the murderous group that attacked the community. Moreover, the governor (I have issues with him here. I will deal with that later) said that even as the governor, he was not in control of the security agencies. Hear the so called chief security office of Enugu State (Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi): "At the emergency Security Council meeting, which I convened, we were given all the assurances that the attack would not happen. 

According to information available to the government revealed that the attack was initiated from Kogi State. Two lorry loads of herdsmen landed in parts of Kogi State before the attack". 

That's it: To prove that those who attacked the Enugu community were fake Fulani herdsmen with an ulterior motive, we have to ask why and how they were transported, and, who provided the two lorries which conveyed the killers? Tell me, where were their cattle, if, they were conveyed to do the killing? Where were their cattle when they were unleashing the mayhem? 

The community complained and put the security agencies on alert about the attack, but, nobody came to help them until the damage was done. They noted that the attack would have been prevented had the security agencies acted on information made available to them by the villagers. It then means that those behind the attack also ordered the security agencies not to act to prevent the attack but to do everything possible to prevent a reprisal attack. We read where the people of Ukpabi Nimbo blamed the security agencies for failing to act on "credible" information they provided before the attack. 

The villagers, through their spokespersons told the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, when he visited the community, that they were abandoned even after they alerted security agencies to the plan to attack them. But immediately the attack was done, the army and police, which were waiting orders from above before reacting, flooded the area with their personnel to prevent reprisal acts. 

Also, when the General Officer Commanding, 82 Division, Enugu, Major General Attahiru Ibrahim, and, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, Nwodibo Ekechukwu, who refused to act or give orders to their men to stop the attack because Aso Rock didn't say so, were in the village on Tuesday April 26, security was beefed up in the community, during that visit, with heavily armed military and police personnel positioned at strategic locations. 

Where were those security operatives during the attack, and, why didn't Aso Rock give the order to stop or prevent the carnage, if, it wasn't a complicit? The GOC of 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, and, the Enugu State Police Commissioner should tell us if they received the order from the presidency to use those security operatives to protect themselves, during their own visit to that community. So, the presidency did allow the use of military and police personnel to protect two "important" individuals, but, denied such to the people of Ukpabi Nimbo, when they sent out an SOS (a community that was in distress). Who's fooling who here?