By Eben Enasco Kingsley
Across notable conventional dailies and citizens’ report have in its riders touchy and somewhat provocative captions of wanton killings, families mourning, and unwholesome kidnappings with the state gradually sliding into sympathetic avalanche.
The security apparatus now dialogue in emptiness and losing touch with modern day facilities to avert the marauding few elements who rely on adopting harmless citizens to meet their daily demands.
Although, the men in uniform are more than willing to throw their lives in by all estimations in ensuring that the citizenry are protected but they get more discouraged when the few monies voted end up in mighty hands.
The big-bang masquerades are involved. They play major role in it. They avail themselves uncommon wealth through the act. They believe and dwell in it. They think killings and have no Mercy! They plan and lay siege on government itself. When they are not favored, they form illegal government. They employ thugs and create parallel government runs alongside their allies.
At no time will a sane government wished that its fails in their electioneering campaign promises except those who do not have genuine affiliation with the people.
Today not many people can sleep with their two eyes closed. You have to almost ask God to physically come down and watch over you when embarking on a journey through the various outlets from the city capital.
Cruel kidnappers seem to be desperate in their determination to spread their devilish mission across Nigeria. These days, kidnappers of the Fulani stock are on the prowl. When they strike, they leave behind sorrow, tears and blood.
In continuation of their ungodly escapades, these criminals are spreading their tentacles to more parts of Nigeria. Particularly, Edo State has become their recent territory. Innocent citizens are their easy prey.
This unhealthy development has unsettled many residents, especially in the two Ovia’s and the Akoko Edo residence, where they have been holding sway, brazenly carrying out their onslaughts in recent times.
Following arrests, some of the kidnappers have narrated how they rape, kill and even drink the blood of their victims, sometimes after collecting ransom. They seem to have taken over the business of kidnapping for ransom, which, until a few years ago, was common with criminals from the Niger Delta, South-East and South-West.
These bandits have abducted people in other states like Ekiti, Delta, Oyo, Ondo, Kogi, Enugu, Benue, Kaduna and other states, even in broad daylight. They ambush unsuspecting targets and whisk them away in a commando manner.
The kidnappers also target policemen and soldiers to collect their arms and uniforms needed for their operations. Many of them are notorious and kidnap for ransom. Some members of these gangs also rape and kill their victims even after collecting ransom from their families. Those released are left to live with emotional trauma.
Unlike the typical herdsmen, these Fulani kidnappers are in possession of sophisticated firearms and ammunition
Recalling the past attacks in Edo Communities
Taking a precise look at it from the beginning of the wrecked havoc, you will agree with me that those outcries of the innocent communities have been ignored in most occasions. In Oben community, orhionmwon LGA some say it was a fluke.
Then a cleric with church of God mission that was murdered in Odighi community also had the same assumption. The hysterics situation paraded by the forest-wheeler lingers on with barely any effort to trunk off the prevalence of these alien in the forest.
The herdsman had reportedly invaded communities’ farmlands, killed farmers, destroys crops and raped women. Already, tension has continued to build up in the area as the herdsmen were reported to have accused the communities of being behind the deaths of their cows and colleagues.
But then, those who complains of cow killed and subsequently take revenge on land owners should be more feared. They posses’ elements that is unthinkable. If they can kill and maimed land owners right before their ancestral abode, it is a case of no hold bare,
My Experience
I hardly parley anyone who parades falsehood to gainer cheap popularity. I have had course to listen to some persons who had encountered these gory scene but never totally believed when they do their narratives.
But at exactly 3:30 pm August 9, 2018, i changed my perception about those who had encountered these bush wheelers. Death beckoned but God cleverly outsmarted the dreaded force of this armed gang. For me it seems it was the end. It was grubby and very close.
The truth is that we had finished the inauguration of the Owan East (Afuse) branch of the practicing Butchers Association and head back from the successful ceremony.
Just by the slope of Okhou-Iguahienmwen near Obadan community in Uhunmwode Local Government Area, we rammed into the waiting hands of an operation carried out by suspected Fulani herders.
They had cut off coming vehicles. We were caved in front and back of us. We heard gun shots at every ranging seconds.
They shot at every available space sporadically with pellets spinning in all directions
I immediately recalled the late football commentator, Earnest okonkwo when he inscribed the word”inter-ballistic missiles’ to describe a thunderous shot from Friday Ekpo of the green eagles. It was similar of sort the shooting guns!
The driver managed to swerve the car into the bush. We had to scamper for safety.
But unknowingly that they also laid siege in the bush the spinning pellets cut shot the active agility of the sergeant police escort attached to government house and he died on the spot.
We managed to escape the scavengers but got unlucky with the vice chairman Natty Iyamu whom we earlier thought was dead since we could not here from him even when we try to call his phones.
The police in their own rights tried to rescue him but all in futility. This time more men of the security operatives were detailed to back up. But it was getting late and we retrieved on the search immediately considering the danger posed.
Before long, we got a call that Natty who had earlier got missing was in the hands of the suspected kidnappers.
Our confidence was a bit restored with the hope that he is alive.
They requested for over ten million as ransom to free him. After negotiations and underground work they agreed to free him for a million naira ransom. He spent over three days in the hands of his adaptors.
Unveiling the masquerades
Many a time we were told by government that our soldiers were ambushed and killed by boko- haram. It makes us wonder what they mean by that.
From a reliable source we gathered that their operations are in bond with security personnel in one of the military barracks in the state who availed then firsthand information on every proposed attack by government.
The same source revealed that while state government made attempt to reinforce and rescue us, a member of the security personnel called one of the armed bandits to reveal anticipated plans. So it would have been easier to bed all of us with their sophisticated guns that night.
According to the source; ‘“They bear rifles. If you see two of them rearing 40 cows, they will have two AK47 rifles. I learnt AK7 sells for about N4 million. If two people rearing about 40 cows can handle two AK47 rifles of about N8 million; it means there is government behind them.
‘’They have over fourthy camps around the communities where they maraud from a point to another. They are all over the place. They move round about the community boundaries particularly, through high tension cable power lines. Whatever monies they collect they use it to order for more bullets to replace the ones they wasted’’.
‘’Some military officers are part of the attacks. They supply those guns and bullets. They also have somebody in Ankara market Aduwawa who avail them relevant information. The ones who rears cow are the same also kidnapping and killing people.
Continuing he said, “I paid One Million to get out of their dent. Before that money was giving to them they contacted an army officer in one of the barracks in Edo state to supply bullets worth two hundred thousand which amount to thirty packs to replace the wasted bullets. Among them is a dismissed army sergeant who trains them.
They are professionals. In the evenings they come out with their motorcycles to by food at Egba community Junction. Every Sunday they come out in numbers and stay in one of the hotels around same Egba Junction. They enjoy themselves with women. There is a woman who makes food for them at Egba junction.
He also noted that from the monies collected as ransom, they send part of it contacting their protégés in Kano to supplier more cows and men. “I can tell you everybody in those camps is all Fulani’s. Every one of them is equipped with a raffle. When they go out to attack they live behind some of their men, who guides their cows in the bush, some of the people they kidnapped who could not pay them ransom were killed” he quipped.
It is of note that killings between farmers and herdsmen have been ongoing for years. From the Southern Kaduna crisis started like every other crisis between the two parties which erupted after a mismanagement of the destruction episode in Godogodo community
“Muslim farmers and Muslim pastoralists fight as well as Katsina State where Fulani farmers and Fulani pastoralists fight”.
The cattle breeders association hasn’t focused enough on complimenting efforts of security operatives in the country towards a peace building process.
If we must win the fight against these sophisticatedly armed bandits government must up their strategies and encourage more the security operatives to carry out genuine operations. Government must be sincere enough to dole out funds to keep the agility of the men in uniform tight to confront the forest wheelers,
