By Musa Abdullahi Kirishi
The serial killing of people in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State has elicited reactions by the two chambers of the National Assembly, with both taking different positions on the matter.
In the wake of the killings, the Senate had on March 9 put the blame at the door of the Boko Haram insurgents.
The Red Chamber came to the conclusion, after adopting a motion by Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP, Taraba), who said many killings going on in his home state were being carried out by members of the Boko Haram sect and not Fulani herdsmen as believed in many quarters.
Bwacha said in his motion that, “The Senate is aware that the Nigerian Army has recorded tremendous success in the war against insurgents in the states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa.
“There is a change of tactics by insurgents who now parade as herdsmen to make it difficult for the public to identify them.”
This position was corroborated by Sen. Barnabas Gemade, another senator from Benue State, who said the Boko Haram insurgents were indeed responsible for many of the killings going on in most parts of northern Nigeria.
In his contribution, a senator from Borno State, Abubakar Kyari, said: “When Fulani herdsmen or Kanuri are being tagged as unfriendly, it portends danger for the country and freedom to live and work anywhere.”
While condemning the spate of killings, kidnappings, destruction of property and farms in states like Benue, Plateau and Taraba by suspected insurgents, the Senate urged the federal government to act quickly in order to arrest the matter.
However, lawmakers of Benue State extraction in the House of Representatives have a different view on the matter.
They believe that indeed the Agatu killings were being carried out by suspected herdsmen, countering the Senate’s position on the matter.
The House had on February 25 resolved to probe the incessant killings of people by unknown gunmen in some communities in Benue State.
Adopting a motion by Rep. Adamu Ochepe Entonu (PDP, Benue), the House mandated its committee on intelligence and public safety to investigate the matter with a view to providing lasting solutions and report back in four weeks.
As if that was not enough, the Benue reps addressed a press conference in Abuja, last Friday, where they said as a matter of urgency, the federal government must take the issue seriously and not treat it with kid’s gloves.
Reading the text of the press conference, the leader of the Benue reps caucus, Rep. Emmanuel Yisa Orker-Jev, described the incidents as an “unfolding genocide in Benue State by Fulani herdsmen, a genocide that, typical of the Nigerian state, has been downplayed or ignored until it spirals out of control.”
He said since 2013, eight local governments of the state have been under attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen. These according to him include Agatu, Buruku, Guma, Gwer-West, Logo, Kwande, Gwer- East and Katsina-Ala.
“We condemn the belated reaction of President Muhammadu Buhari and his Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazzau (rtd) ,who broke their unholy silence a week after over 500 people were killed and 10 villages razed in Agatu area of the state.
“It is curious that up till today, the investigative panel purportedly instituted by the federal government to inquire into the attacks has not been made public or inaugurated. Who are the members of this committee? When will they commence work? Must we wait for all the people of the state to be cleansed off the surface of the earth before we act?” the Benue reps said.
The lawmakers said the, “invasion must stop for we will no longer tolerate the violation of the integrity of our people. We want Mr. President to act like the soldier that he is now.”
They said the hospitality and accommodating nature of Benue people must not be abused any longer.
“It is a fact that cattle rearing is an integral part of the economic mainstay of some northerners and has no doubt contributed to a sustained production and sales of cow meat in markets across the country. But the recent activities of Fulani cattle rearers in Benue State are threatening the life and existence of our peace loving people especially in the rural areas,” they added.
They said since the beginning of this year, not less than 1,000 people have been killed and property worth millions of naira destroyed by the suspected herdsmen.
“It is despicable and unacceptable that despite the outcry that trailed the killings and sacking of Agatu communities by the Fulani militia, the marauders have continued unabated, laying siege to other local governments and killing more people,” they said.
The lawmakers also frowned at the statement credited to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, that the number of those killed was blown out of proportion.
“That statement expectedly encouraged the herdsmen who have intensified their killing bazaar in the state.”
They therefore urged security agencies to stop the attacks on Benue communities by arresting, disarming, prosecuting and jailing “the foot soldiers and their sponsors.”
The 11 House of Representatives members are Orker-Jev, Herman Hembe, John Dyegh, Samson Okwu, Ezekiel Adaji, Hassan Saleh, Adamu Entonu, Emmanuel Udende, Dickson Tarkighir, Wayo Benjamin and Mark Gbillah.
Now that the lawmakers in the two chambers of the National Assembly seem to counter themselves on the Benue killings, it remains to be seen what action would be taken in order to put an end to the attacks.
However, observers believe that as a criminal offence, the most important thing is tracing the root cause of the problem and addressing it without necessarily wasting precious time trading blames.
A legal practitioner, Barr Shuaibu Khalil, said it was unfortunate that various stakeholders had given preferences to rhetorics instead of working together to end the continuous mayhem in Agatu.
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