Assailants have reportedly attacked Hon. Jonathan Asake’s campaign vehicle in Kaduna State’s Gidan Waya, Jema’a local government area, on Friday. Asake is the Labour Party’s (LP) candidate for governor of Kaduna State.
Four youths were injured in the attack, including two males and two females, according to a statement issued by Mr. James Swam, the media aide to the LP governorship candidate.
The incident allegedly occurred when the campaign team was touring the local government while the campaign convoy was traveling through Gidan Waya during the Friday Juma’at prayers on its way to Godogodo and other towns.
He claimed that as soon as the first three vehicles in the convoy passed through the used tires that had been used to mark the path, thugs began hurling rocks, sticks, and other dangerous objects at the extensive convoy.
“It took the timely intervention of the security personnel attached to the candidate to forestall a crisis,” he stated.
Less than a week to the governorship and House of Assembly elections on Saturday, March 11, Fulani herdsmen have invaded six communities in the Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State, North Central Nigeria and killed no less than 50 persons. Although the police in Benue State said the casualty figure was not up to 50, it could not provide counter details. The affected communities in the four-day attack are Adam, Iyarinwa, Abamde Ityuluv, Waya Boagundu, Agura Ayaga and Azege areas in Turan Council Ward, Kwande LGA. The former chairman of the Council Tertsua Yarkbewan, who confirmed the casualty figures while addressing journalists, on Monday, said the death toll could be more.
Lamenting the constant invasion and killing of his people by herdsmen, Yarkbewan said, “My people are being massacred like goats. What we have been hearing is that there are Fulani attacks, especially in Turan in the Kwande axis. Even places where there were no attacks before are witnessing attacks.
“Now, every day you hear that five or four people were killed, you cannot have the exact number of those that have been killed because some corpses are still in the bush and yet to be recovered. But looking at the number of people being killed in the past few days, I think the casualty figures should be over 50.”
Reacting to the incident, the Police Command spokesperson, Catherine Anene, confirmed the attack but said the normalcy have returned to the affected communities. Anene, however, insisted that casualty figure wasn’t correct. “They have not given me the report but it is not up to 50; the initial report they gave me there was a change of leadership of the division. The new DPO just reported last Friday and when I asked him to give me a situation report he said the area is calm now,” she said.
…Demands that “the states of the Niger Delta adequately enforce their anti-open grazing legislation and safeguard people’s lives and property.”
Ijaw leaders have issued warnings against the invasion of Ijaw communities by armed individuals who are thought to be herders, under the aegis of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC).
They noted that “these intruders who wield lethal and dangerous weapons” have been alarmingly invading the towns and farms of Ijaw and other Niger Delta residents.
Consequently, they urged “the Niger Delta states to effectively enforce their anti-open grazing legislation and protect lives and property.
Additionally, they should offer people the assurance that they can go to their fields and earn a living without being afraid or uneasy, especially since lost lives cannot be replaced.
These statements can be found in a statement released on Wednesday by Professor Benjamin Okaba, National President of the INC.
“Our brothers and sisters have been brutally murdered by these herdsmen in their communities and farmlands throughout the states of Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, and Ondo, among others.
He noted that, particularly in the last few years, “the horrific tales of the barbarous and despicable conduct of these agents of provocation have led reports.”
First Vice President Atamuno Atamuno, Secretary Ebipamowei Wodu, Treasurer Philip Agu, and Financial Secretary Kenneth Odiowei were among the INC national executives present.
On January 24, some alleged armed herdsmen were claimed to have brutally murdered a father and his kid at their farm in Toru-Angiama, in the Patani Local Government Area of Delta State. Mr. Okaba recalled this incident.
He stated, “A woman was murdered in her farm at Sabagriea community in Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA of Bayelsa State on January 25, 2023.
In February 2021, suspected herdsmen attacked a farmer and his son on their farm in the Otuoke community of the Ogbia LGA in Bayelsa.
The constant invasions and violent attacks are part of a nefarious plan by these herders and their employers to seize and dominate the Niger Delta and the Ijaw nation.
“We vehemently oppose in its totality all covert attempts by herders and their employers to seize control of the bushes of the Ijaw nation.
“We are steadfast in our resolve to thwart any efforts by strange forces to terrorize and drive Ijaw people from their ancient territories and history.
In order to advance peace and sustainable development, “we endorse all anti-open grazing laws legally approved by the Houses of Assembly of Niger Delta states and assented to by their Governors.”
The governor of the Plateau has refuted circulating allegations that herdsmen have taken control of several of the region’s settlements.
At a service to commemorate the 2023 Plateau Forgiveness Day on Sunday at St. Monica Catholic Church in Jos, the governor took advantage of the opportunity to address allegations being made that the State’s government had done nothing to stop herdsmen from occupying some villages and taking control of others.
He refuted the claim and asserted that there was no evidence of any local takeover on his desk.
According to him, the government passed and signed into law the Anti-Land Grabbing bill in 2020 as a preventative measure.
“I want the world to know that what we have been doing is bringing people back to their ancestral lands who have been displaced after fleeing their homes as a result of attacks. For instance, the contractor has been given the go-ahead to begin work on the site for the construction of a Police Mobile Barracks in Kakuruk, Gashish District, Barkin Local Government. This would give the residents of the area the security they need to return to their lands.
“Another village, Jong Community in the Ropp District of Barkin Ladi returned to their abode last two months ago. Similarly, the Shonong Community in Bachit District of Riyom Local Government has also been returned to their homes”.
Governor Lalong said anyone who has such a complaint should write to the Government or go to court to protest such an infraction if it happens to promise that he will not spare anyone who tries to lay claim on any inch of Plateau State that does not belong to him.
Lalong has come under fire in the past by Plateau youths for how he has handled insecurity in the state
The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) has voiced alarm over what it has called “a well-packaged bouquet of deadly charges” made against Governor Samuel Ortom by an organization led by the former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
According to SOKAPU, it condemns the killing of innocent individuals or any resident of Nigeria, regardless of color, tribe, creed, or area.
“Southern Kaduna has had more cruelty than it can manage, especially in the last eight years,” said Mr. Luka Binniyat, spokesman for SOKAPU, in a statement. “We know what mass murder of defenseless law-abiding civilians entails.”
According to the statement, the Air Force administration has admitted responsibility for the strikes and defended its line of action, arguing that if the bombing victims were innocent herders, justice must be served and full compensation must be given to their families.
It said, “On January 30, 2023, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria wrote and signed a strongly worded letter to President Muhammadu Buhari that was filled with accusations and threats against Gov. Ortom. The letter made its way into the press. It is absurd and regrettable that the previous Emir of Kano and leading Fulani elites would go so far as to try to implicate Ortom in the event.
According to the statement, the major offense committed by Governor Ortom is the Open Grazing and Livestock Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, which is enforced by the Benue State Livestock Guards. The statement claimed that since the law’s passage in 2017, Gov. Ortom has not only been the target of a barrage of verbal attacks from enraged Fulani leaders and groups, but has also survived multiple attempts on his life.
SOKAPU observed that if a state government enacts a law that every resident of the state is bound by, no ethnic group has the exclusive right to disrespect such a law no matter how privileged and protected it may be and that the most civilized course of action is to follow the democratic process of reviewing the law or repealing it.
“Therefore, we anticipate that Sanusi and his tribe chiefs will urge their followers to uphold Benue State law while on state territory and to pursue legal means of amending or repealing any law they believe to be against their people’s best interests”.
“What SOKAPU finds curious and very surprising is that Sanusi who has portrayed himself as a nationalist of some kind has reduced himself to a narrow champion of his tribesmen. We say this because Sanusi has made Kaduna his second home since his dethronement as the Emir of Kano in March 2020 but has never made a comment on the mass killings of the people of Southern Kaduna and law-abiding Fulani in Kaduna State,” the forum noted.
The statement continued, “In June 2022, the forum reported with proof of how killer herdsmen on over 150 motorbikes attacked some communities in Adara Chiefdom in Kajuru LGA in Southern Kaduna, while a low-flying Air Force gun-mounted plane assisted the invaders.” It added that 32 innocent farmers were killed in the attack and a further ten were abducted.
This is just one of many attacks for which we have alleged complicity on the part of a rebellious military unit. Sanusi has been attempting to portray himself as a statesman, thus we would have anticipated that he would add his substantial voice to denouncing such criminality and demanding justice, even if not with the same zeal and fervor he is applying to the Akwanaja bombing, the statement said.
” Sanusi wields a lot of influence on the Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai. However, el-Rufai has persisted in demonstrating a lack of ability or will to safeguard the residents of Kaduna State, particularly from the bloodshed caused by armed herders who are also known as “bandits.” When Kaduna, his second home, is gushing with the blood of innocent victims as a result of savage herdsmen assaults, Sanusi’s decision to focus on Ortom in distant Benue State (away from the scene of the atrocities in Nasarawa State) certainly reeks of a troubling agenda against Ortom.
It was highlighted that Southern Kaduna, a formidable region of the Middle Belt, wanted to declare that if Ortom suffered harm, they knew who should be held accountable.
“We show our support for Ortom and the residents of Benue State. We also want a thorough investigation of the bombing in Akwanaja. We further want that the same policy be applied to similar bombs that have occurred in Southern Kaduna, according to the forum.
Following a recent bombardment of individuals thought to be herders on the border of Benue and Nasarawa States, it has been claimed that suspected Fulani herdsmen have exacted revenge on Tiv communities in Nasarawa State.
This follows comments by the deposed Emir Sanusi concerning the killings in which he had earlier alleged that the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom was responsible for the alleged airstrike in Rukubi, a village on the border between Nasarawa and Benue States which left 56 persons dead with others injured.
Emir Sanusi said “All the air strikes that took place in Nasarawa were masterminded from Makurdi. We must hold him responsible since we know his position against Fulani. It’s only an investigation that will avail him of the allegations. Why won’t t there be an investigation to reveal who masterminded the bombardment? And who gives orders to the Air force to always launch these airstrikes?
However, the Tiv community of Nasarawa State claimed yesterday that suspected armed herdsmen were continuing to attack and murder innocent Tiv people in the southern portion of the state as retaliation for the recent bombing.
Mr Peter Ahemba, president of the Tiv Development Association (TIDA) in Nasarawa State, raised the alarm yesterday in a press conference in Lafia. As a result, he urged the federal and state governments to take immediate action to put an end to the ongoing attacks and killings.
He further said that heavily armed herdsmen had singled out and attacked the Tiv people, highlighting the fact that numerous innocent Tiv farmers had already been killed and driven from their homes in the state’s Doma, Keana, and Obi Local Government Areas.
Ahemba emphasized that the intelligence report available to the TIDA leadership showed that the heavily armed herders were preparing to launch more lethal attacks on Tiv settlements throughout the state’s southern zone, as well as portions of the Kokona and Nasarawa Local Government Areas, in order to ensure the complete annihilation of the Tiv nation in the state.
“Thousands of our people have been displaced from across Doma, Keana, and Obi LGAs of the state and armed herders have massacred scores of our people in the previous few days.”
“Chabo village has been devastated to nothing but ashes. As the entire Tiv community in Doma has been forced to flee their homes and numerous others are being slain in isolated communities, a fatal attack was launched on Ajo village in Keana LGA, according to the TIDA President.
The Tiv people of the state were unaware of the recent airstrike that was being used as justification for the widespread killings of the Tiv farmers and destruction of their property, he said, describing the attacks on them as barbaric.
“We request assistance from the federal and state governments, who should provide sufficient security personnel to our communities in the impacted LGAs. All escape routes are still blocked by the herders, who are currently killing our people like animals, according to Ahemba.
Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue State, has referred to accusations linking his administration to the deaths caused by an airstrike on a community in Nasarawa State as malicious.
The governor claimed that neither he nor his administration were involved in the terrible event.
He insisted that he did not give anyone the command to commit the deed and that he lacked the authority to direct the air raid operation which resulted in the killings
The governor said it was sheer mischief for someone to try and tie him into something he had no knowledge of and questioned why he would be associated with the occurrence.
The Benue state Governor has responded to the deposed Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi who in a recent video called on Ortom to learn from his fellow governors on how to manage diversity in his state – citing the Governor of Plateau State as his model.
Ortom issued a response through his spokesman, Nathaniel Ikyur in a press statement where he urged Sanusi to restrain himself from meddling in the affairs of Benue State. The Benue Governor also asked the former emir to face the court litigation surrounding his dethronement.
According to the statement, the video was aimed at profiling Governor Ortom before the Fulani race, however, Ortom further stated that he does not intend to join issues with the deposed emir due to the sacredness with which he holds human lives. He maintained that the anti-open grazing law which the deposed emir referenced earlier was validly passed by the Benue State House of Assembly with appropriate penalties for violators.
Ortom also stated that at the appropriate time, he would respond and say his side of the story and expose the evil that had been orchestrated by people perceived to be educated and who are supposed to be good leaders. He further said he found it strange that Sanusi would advise him to govern Benue like Plateau – when he was “elected by the people of Benue state and not any man in Kano”.
The governor pointed out that the law prohibiting open grazing in Benue did not conflict with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and as such, noone could stop the Benue state government from enforcing the rights and practice of the law.
Recently, we have heard a lot about the killings in Southern Kaduna, but the media has once again seemed to ignore the killings in Southern Bauchi, where armed herdsmen attacks are responsible for scores of deaths every day. Only a few media outlets have been able to report on the atrocities taking place in the area.
The most recent incident that inspired this article occurred on January 22, 2023, at Gambar Sabon Layi in Tafawa Balewa local government of Bauchi State, where Daniel Dabwa was abducted and where four victims were gruesomely murdered.
Heatmap of the non state actors and attacks by region (Credit: Genocide Watch)
But to understand the issues in Bauchi, there is a need to take a historic look at Bauchi State as a whole and the issues plaguing the Zaar people, where the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara hails from.
Bauchi was founded in 1809 by Mallam Yakubu one of the flag bearers of the Sokoto Jihad and was the first emir of Bauchi. They waged war on the non-Muslim groups in the area as they resisted subjugation.
The emir of Bauchi’s palace dated 1891
In recent times, questions of indigeneity have risen as the indigene/settler narrative continues to cause tensions. The Zaar through their historical account settled in the region from before 1345. When the Jihads begun in the 1800’s, they had a peace treaty with Yakubu, the founder of Bauchi however after the passing of Yakubu, the peace treaty was broken by Yakubu’s successors which led to oppression and in some circumstances enslavement of some of the people by the Bauchi emirate. This led to a hostile relationship between the Bauchi emirate and the Zaar people which is still ever present in Zaar consciousness according to Jimam Lar, a scholar and researcher on post-colonial Nigerian history at the University of Jos.
In recent times, in the area known as Southern Bauchi, the Zaar, are the largest Christian group in Bauchi State and their population is concentrated in the Tafawa Balewa, Bogoro and Dass federal constituency.
A Zaar couple
The first problem which is very obvious as is the case with other Middle Belt areas is that there has been intent to rename their areas to those of other ethnicities (particularly Fulfude and Hausa names). Tafawa Balewa means “black stone” in Fulfude – with Fulfude being the language of the Fulani ethnic group located in a few states in northern Nigeria. The Zaar instead call their local government “Puji” instead of Tafawa Balewa which also means black stone but in their language.
We see this trend in other parts of the Middle Belt like Adamawa – where the name of the state was renamed to that of the Fulani jihadist “Modibo Adama” who was responsible for slaughtering the people of Adamawa in large numbers during the Jihad of 1804. And it is unimaginable that in the 21st century, mini colonialism is still ever present where others would try to dominate and rename the lands of others. This is the case of Tafawa Balewa in Bauchi State.
Reasons for the conflict have historic roots with the first being a breach of the peace treaty during the pre colonial period in Bauchi which led to conflict between Yakubus successors in the Bauchi emirate and the Zaar people.
The second arose during the colonial era according to Johannes Harnischfeger – when the British occupied Northern Nigeria and preserved the Islamic structure of the Hausa and Fulani groups in the old Northern region but attached the Non-Muslim groups (in this case the Zaar) to the emirate structure under the Fulani.
Other researchers like Adam Higazi and Jimam Lar have articulated that in recent times, Zaar leaders and organizations like the Sayawa council of elders and traditional rulers accuse the Bauchi state government of discrimination against the people of Southern Bauchi.
The problem persisted all through the colonial era since the Emirs had unlimited powers, as well as the right to distribute land and to collect taxes – this was another cause of conflict between the Zaar and the Emirates
Thirdly, in these emirates, the citizens were subject to Islamic courts despite being heathen/pagan (in the words of the British). This meant that Zaar were discriminated against in the old emirates.
It was so bad that a government commission in 1958 ascertained that Fulani judges dealing with criminal cases only admitted testimonies of male Muslim witnesses and in terms of compensation, christians and traditionalists were given only half or one-fifteenth of the amount that a Muslim could expect (Willink commission report)
By the 1950s, the Zaar had joined the UMBC – United Middle Belt Congress, the party of Northern Nigerian minority groups which had gone into an alliance with Awolowo’s Action Group (AG) and which was built on the quest to liberate ethnic minorities from the Emirate system – a move that the Hausa leaders point to as a cause for the Zaar’s recalcitrance.
A photo of Joseph Tarka, Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Ahmadu Bello in the first Republic.
The Zaar have largely remained more culturally and politically oriented towards the Non-Muslim groups of Plateau and Southern Kaduna than towards the Bauchi Emirate. Due to this reason among others, they have therefore advocated for the creation of a lowland state which will encompass Southern Bauchi and Plateau States.
On the issue relating to disturbances plaquing the area, Southern Bauchi has witnessed violence at different times in Nigeria’s history.
Violence occurred in 1959, 1977, 1991, 1995, 2001 and 2011. The first case of conflict happened in 1959 which was low in scale but since the creation of Bauchi State in 1976 by the late General Murtala Mohammed, the conflicts quickly escalated and issues as to indigeneity arose.
Since then, the Zaar accuse the Bauchi state government of stripping social amenities away from their areas during interviews with members of the community. To emphasize this point, we were able to confirm that Tafawa Balewa was stripped of its status as a local government headquarters where it was relocated to Bula, the main centre of the Hausa – Muslim district. The police divisional headquarters was also relocated to Bununu as unjustifiable reasons were given for this move.
In sum, the Tafawa Balewa conflict is defined by two key factors – the historic evolution of the relationship between the Zaar and the Bauchi emirate, a relationship they believe has made them second-class citizens on their land – and secondly, issues over indigeneity and the founding of Tafawa Balewa.
In the wake of the riots in 1991, the Babalakin commission of inquiry was set up by the then Military administration to look into the conflict. It made recommendations of which some have still not yet been implemented in totality. The first being the creation of a chiefdom for the Zaar people of Tafawa Balewa and secondly, the prosecution of the perpetrators of the violence during that period.
Zaar cultural festival, Tafawa Balewa where the Gung Zaar (paramount Chief was installed) but without being gazetted and without agreement from the Bauchi emirate (2nd November 2013).
Since 1991, there have been 10 governments in Bauchi and all, up to date have not implemented the recommendations of the commission of inquiry holistically. This has led a lot of analysts to see credence in what some of the Zaar people have said regarding the Bauchi State Government.
The former Governor Isa Yuguda created a Chiefdom but put its headquarters at Zwall and not Tafawa Balewa which was rejected by the Zaar people as not having complied with the recommendation of the various commissions of inquiry.
Of recent, the present Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed made the news for setting up a committee to look into the issue yet, like all governments before him, those words have been all smoke without fire.
The Zaar people in 2023 are still seeking the Chiefdom of their people and this issue is not unique to this area of the Middle Belt. We see the issue of chiefdoms as an important weapon that has been used to subjugate the Middle belt people by continuing age-long colonial policies where diverse groups instead of being granted their chiefdoms are being attached to emirates and even if they are being granted, are granted in part – and in areas away from where there are huge settlers which means that those settlers in the future could lay claim to these lands.
Another example is in Nasarawa where many groups such as the Tiv who have a whooping 11 wards have been deprived the right to have their traditional structures or chiefdoms. What this means is that they have to be under emirate rule in the state despite being largely traditionalists and christian.
We can also witness this unfolding in Southern Kaduna (the region of former Southern Zaria and not the Southern Kaduna senatorial district) where the current governor of Kaduna State has watered down most of the traditional institutions of other ethnicities whilst reinforcing his – or in specific instances where he has sent people from his ethnicity to be district heads to people of different ethnicities. As such, there must be a conscious effort to reject these attempts to deny or infiltrate the traditional structures of the Middle Belt people.
Bauchi State and environs
In conclusion, the most recurring theme in Nigerian political discourse is identity, ethnicity, traditional structures and land ownership. It is strange that settlers choose to have these debates with indigene Middle Belt groups when the 1958 Willink commission report showed the areas consisting of the different ethnic nationalities in present day Nigeria with little to no disagreement at that time. Infact, the then Northern regional government agreed with those mappings.
In the coming years, Nigeria will have to answer the indigene/settler question and the issue of minority rights as a whole. As for colonial documents and the intent behind migration during the colonial period, the British have clearly stated their reasons for importing groups into the geographical spaces of others. They site administrative expediency as the major reason.
The truth is that even the colonialists had a clear policy regarding the indigene/settler question and this could be used as a starting point when proffering solutions to these issues going forward.
As for the Zaar people in Southern Bauchi, the short-term solution should be the implementation of all commissions of inquiry reports holistically, a referendum regarding which State the Zaar people should belong to and the adoption of the said referendum.
From a regional perspective, a progressive step would be to adopt the Willink commission report regarding the creation of a Middle Belt region and the granting of autonomy to each ethnic nationality in the region.
Reports have it that on the 21st of January 2023, armed groups suspected to be bandits attacked the Abagana community opposite the internally displaced persons camp located along Makurdi/Lafia road in Benue State according to the Punch Newspaper . The attack happened on Thursday night came barely two years after the community was hit with attacks that left seven persons murdered. Sources in the community informed the Punch that a family of six and two others were beheaded with their heads carted away by the armed invaders.
It was gathered that the attack left many others injured as the bandts invaded the community around 9pm and shot sporadically which left many wounded and others dead.
Lt Col Paul Hemba, Security Adviser to the Governor of Benue State confirmed the attack and said that the attack, unprovoked happened as the villagers were preparing to go to bed. Hemba gave the names of the deceased as Gbashaor Acho, Gbashaor Joseph, Anshe Dekera, Ancho Kpor, Eunice Gbashaor, Sewuese Gbashaor, Terlumun Ajoh, Emberga Gbashaor and Donald Gbashaor and confirmed that the death toll could still rise due to injuries sustained by the attacks.
He also stated that the bandits stole two motorcycles belonging to the villagers.
Suspected killer herdsmen have written to residents of some communities in Ogun state, threatening to invade their house in a reprisal attack.
The unknown herdsmen in the notice letter of attack, a copy which was obtained by our correspondent, threw fear into the minds of the residents of Asa, Agbon, Ibeku and Oja-Odan communities in the Yewa-North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The latter was reportedly written on Saturday.
The herdsmen, in the letter written in English and Hausa languages, informed the residents of their intention of attacking the communities through the notice letter reportedly pasted on the walls in some strategic places within the communities.
The herdsmen told the leaders of the communities to expect their visitation to their homes between December and January.
The notice reads, “Attention! Attention!! Attention!! to all following communities; Asa, Agbon, lbeku, Oja-odan and its environs.
“You think you can send away our people from the land they bought in Nigeria, our fathers land, you kill our people, you kill their cows, you take over all their properties, you think you can go scot-free. It’s high time we come for revenge.
“All the above mention communities leaders should prepare for the war between December and January. We are coming to take back our father’s property.”
When contacted the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the development .
Oyeyemi said he had seen the letter, as he assured the concerned communities of the command’s commitment to unravel those behind the hideous act.
“Well, I saw the letter purportedly written by a baseless group. We believe it is a baseless group that wrote the letter. We are not losing any sleep because no information is too small to take note of.
“We are not neglecting it. We are working on it to unravel those behind it,” he said.
