HURIWA Condemns Prolonged Agatu Massacre By Fulani Herdsmen….And Calls For DSS DG's And IGP's Sack

By Emmanuel Onwubiko

HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA ) has for the umpteenth time condemned in the strongest possible terms the continuous massacre of villagers in AGATU local government area of Benue State by armed marauders suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.

The Rights group has also called for the dismissal of the Inspector General of Police Mr Solomon Arase and the Director General of Dpartment of State Service for their failure to effectively police Nigeria and stop these range of coordinated mass killings of civilians by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen just as it blamed the apathy and complete inaction of President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government towards halting these large scale killings for the motivation of these armed hoodlums who are currently ravaging all parts of Nigeria.

"We are deeply shocked that whilst some large scale coordinated blood cuddling attacks are staged by persons clearly identified as Fulani herdsmen the Inspector General of Police Mr Solomon Arase has been busy speaking in tongues and incoherently explaining that those masterminding these dastardly criminal genocidal killings are mercenaries from neighbouring West African nations when it is clear to even persons who have problems with discernment that those responsible for the current mass killings are Fulani herdsmen who allegedly are attacking farmers because they are on a mission of vendetta for failing to have field day in destroying farmlands in the guise of cattle rearing.

"The IGP must resign or be sacked since he is incapable of checking these widening spectre of mass killings but is busy giving incoherent reasons for his incapacity and gross professional incompetence. We wonder why the Inspector General of Police is playing politics with the lives of Nigerians by failing to tackle the mass genocides going on all across Nigeria by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen ".

HURIWA in a statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf said that : " With unprecedented shock , disbelief and anger at the gross apathy of the powers- that- be in Abuja and the failure by the Muhammadu Buhari led Federal government to stop the alleged killing of hundreds of persons in four Agatu communities in Benue State by marauding Fulani herdsmen and militiamen even when this pattern of mass killings have gone on for a very long time. We wonder what the Nigerian Inspector General of Police is doing in office longer than twenty four hours after he has once more spectacularly failed to prevent these mass killings.

If the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of State Service (DSS) still have honours they must quit their high offices for failing to effectively check these mass assassination of innocent Nigerians by persons suspected to be armed Fulani herdsmen. It's a big shame that both the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Service have intentionally stood by and did nothing whilst gangs of well armed Fulani herdsmen are wrecking havoc on Nigerian communities. They must resign or be dismissed".

HURIWA has also called on the Benue State House of Assembly to set up a civilian joint task force which must be minimally armed and funded to protect the lives and property of their citizens because the primary role of government is the security of lives and property of the citizenry and since the central police and the DSS are not interested in stopping the mass killings in Benue State it is imperative that urgent actions are taken by the State government to stop the continuous elimination of their people by armed marauders identified as Fulani herdsmen.

Everything humanly possible must be done to stop these killings and the State Governments all across Nigeria need not wait for the unprofessional bunch of Nigeria police Force and the heavily politically compromised Department of State Service to provide security when these two federal agencies have done practically nothing to stop the genocide unfolding before our very before". HURIWA has once more called for the creation of state police.

HURIWA said it is in pain to recall that While some sources claimed that hundreds have been killed, a member of the state House of Assembly representing the affected Agatu Constituency, Sule Audu who spoke with journalists in Benue state on phone refused to give a specific death toll. But he noted that the number of people killed could not be quantified for now as “there were bodies almost everywhere and many were yet to be identified and recovered.’’

HURIWA has also called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to investigate the allegations that the Nasarawa State government was providing logistical support for those responsible for these mass killings as alleged by the member of the Benue State Assembly Mr Suleiman Audu who was quoted as saying thus: “As I am speaking to you now, a large number of the attackers are still crossing over to Agatu. A source in Nasarawa State just told me that they are being transported on motorcycles to Loco from where they cross over to Agatu."