Human Rights Alert: Communities Fleeing Benue State; Governor’s Home Attacked
Following our recent fact-finding mission to Nigeria and the interim report released yesterday, we have received photographic evidence from human rights workers in country of communities in Benue fleeing persistent attacks.
CONTINUING KILLINGS:
In the first 72 hours of this week already:
– February 5 A ferocious gun battle in the town of Yogbo led to the successful repulsion of an all out assault. Police sources number the Killer Fulani Herdsmen assailants at exceeding 1000.
Several police men and community members are reported dead and missing as well as a couple of attackers
– February 6 Killer Fulani Herdsmen attacked the country home of the Benue State Governor and two people have been reported killed. This is the second attack on the governor’s home in several years as he comes under extreme pressure not to enforce state laws restricting destruction of farmlands by cattle
CONTINUED FEDERAL FAILURE AND COMPLICITY
– Reports indicate that Nigeria’s President Buhari is visiting neighboring Nassarawa state barely an hours drive from the attacks.
However he has failed to pay a condolence visit to Benue State almost 40 days after the New Year’s Day Massacre which killed 73 people.
General Buhari’s visit to the neighboring state drew massive deployments of police to the neglect and detriment of Benue State where police have consistently requested reinforcements.
Benue’s Governor has reported that Nassarawa state is an operational base for the attackers on his state but no action has been taken on his report.
– Nigeria’s Federal Police has attacked the Benue State governor in a bizarre media interview calling him a drowning man who is unable to protect his people.
However under Nigerian law, the police are responsible for protecting the people and the governor has no state police under his control.
Ironically if anything despite the deployment of the police Inspector General to Benue State by the president, the killings continue unabated under his watch – a clear admission of failure.
In a further unprecedented event, the police called for the governor’s resignation – a strange deviation from policing to politics and further evidence of collusion or condonation.
MASS MIGRATION
Against the context above of continuing killings and continuing Federal indifference, villagers are fleeing their communities in droves. Women and children are trekking miles to get out due to the loss of confidence in federal security structures.
