No soldier was injured in the exchange of fire. The soldiers were said to have gone in pursuit of the remaining armed men who, however, took to their heels. The bodies of the dead insurgents were conveyed in a police truck to the mortuary at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia, the state capital.
Keana Local Government Chairman, Alhaji Haruna Oshegba, confirmed the death of eight persons but said he was yet to get briefs from the operational command responsible. “There is crisis in my local government and it is a military operation, so I am trying to get information put together before I will know exactly what happened. For now, I have eight (bodies) in the specialist hospital, Lafia.”
The Secretary of the Nasarawa State Miyetti Allah Association, Muhammed Hussaini, however alleged that the soldiers killed over 30 Fulani for no reason.Hussaini accused the Federal Government of complicity in the killing, saying that the organisation would sue the Federal Government. “I am presently in the mortuary receiving corpses. They killed over 30 of our men for no reason; this is genocide and we will approach the International Court of Justice (ICC).
When contacted the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Umar Ismaila Numan, said he was yet to be briefed over the incident, adding that the command would address the press after getting full details on the matter. Efforts to get reactions from the army was unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
The Federal Government had deployed soldiers to flush out insurgents disguising as herdsmen to attack farmers in Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau states. Meanwhile, allegations that chemical weapons have been deployed in the armed conflict between Fulani herdsmen and Tiv farmers in Benue State is beginning to draw the attention of government and human rights watchers.
Governor Gabriel Suswam had alleged that the corpses recovered from the scenes of some attacks recently suggested that they died not as a result of gun shots or machete cuts but from suspected chemical substances.
“They had no gun shots, no matched cuts and there was foam coming out of their mouths,” he said insisting that a laboratory analysis be conducted on the victims and some canisters recovered from the scenes of attack. Already, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Bem Angwe, has mobilised the commission to Benue to commence preliminary investigation to asertain the veracity of the claim.
Speaking with reporters in Makurdi yesterday, Angwe said: “We are in Benue to assess the human rights situation, particularly as it affects the recent killings of innocent citizens by unknown gunmen.
We are more concerned when the commission monitored media reports last week that chemical weapons are being used in some of the killings. We are concerned because this constitutes a direct threat to humanity. “The use of chemical weapons is condemned by the international community.
The use of such weapons is today not only a violation of human rights but it amounts to crime against humanity. So, the commission was alarmed because of the the potential threat to the nation.
“Therefore, we are on a mission to verify the truthfulness or otherwise of claim that chemical weapons had been used so that the commission can invoke its mandate of having our international (body) to come and verify the situation and analyse the weapons being used to see if these are actually chemical or biological weapons.”
The Deputy Inspector General of Police leading the Federal Government’s peace and security committee, Michael Zuakumor, however, said while in Makurdi on Tuesday that the allegations of use of chemical weapons in some of the attacks had not been verified.
Also, National President of the Fulani umbrella organisation Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Alhaji Bello Abdullahi Badejo, dismissed the allegations, arguing that Fulanis reared their cattle using sticks not AK 47 riffles, not to talk of deploying chemical weapons in any circumstances. “They always say suspected Fulani men, let them arrest anyone they see with gun. We rear our cattle with sticks not AK 47, “ Badejo declared.
Zuakumor told New Telegraph that the peace and security committee had achieved a lot in the effort to end the conflict by getting the warring parties to hold talks and sign a memorandum of understanding.
“We have done the first step to achieve peace. After our agreement, those who love peace will not want to attack, but there are some who may want to do it again. I must say that anyone who does not want to cooperate with us and wants to take the law into his hands, will not find it easy, “ he said.
He said the achievement recorded at the meeting between the warring communities in Benue had encouraged a similar agreement in Nasarawa State. Zuakumor headed for Taraba yesterday for a similar meeting between Fulani herdsmen and farmers.
In a related development, the Senate has been urged to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons. Senator Barnabas Gemade who made this proposal yesterday said the investigation had become necessary given the reported impact of the attack on the people living in those communities.
In a statement made available to newsmen, Gemade said that the attacks have become very rampant in Guma, Gwer West, Logo, Jatsina-Ala, Kwande and Ukum areas of Benue State.
He called for immediate action on the issue to put an end to the killings and ensure that the tens of thousands that had been displaced are returned to their homes and farmhands to forestall the looming famine as a result of the abandonment of the farmlands.
Gemade commended President Goodluck Jonathan for the deployment of the military to Benue State to counter the activities of bandits who have been terrorising communities in the state.
He also called on the military to ensure a high sense of discipline in prosecuting the war against insurgency in parts of the country. Gemade appealed to the military to demonstrate professionalism and impartiality which has been the all mark of the service.
Source: New Telegraph
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