LIKE many Nigerians who have borne the brunt of terrorist attacks by nomadic herdsmen, residents of Aku in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State were thrown into turmoil recently following the killing of a farmer identified as Emma Nnadi. Nnadi was gunned down while trying to rescue a 13-year-old girl who was being gang-raped by the herdsmen. A community leader, Agu Chineme, who confirmed the incident in a statement, said that the community was traumatised by the incident. He said: “The 13-year-old girl, a primary school leaver, was mercilessly raped by two armed herders while working on her family’s farm. The young victim recounted the horrific incident, with her voice trembling with fear and her body still bearing the physical scars of the assault. The gruesome attack claimed the life of Emma Nnadi, a brave farmer who attempted to intervene and protect the young girl from the clutches of the ruthless herders. The herders showed no remorse as they took turns raping the girl, even as Emma lay dead from gunshot wounds.”

Gruesome as this story is, it is quite typical. For years, the terrorists masquerading as herdsmen have committed unspeakable atrocities across the land. They have laid entire communities waste, shedding blood and burning down homesteads at will. They have made going to the farm a death sentence for many farmers. They have raped wives before their husbands and daughters before their parents, visiting grievous bodily harm on their victims and treating them worse than animals. They have attacked travellers and vehicles on the roads, taken many hostage, and extorted money from their families after subjecting them to mindless torture. Many drivers have met their untimely deaths at the hands of these merchants of blood. The so-called herders have invaded hospitals, schools and neighbourhoods, cutting down hapless citizens in cold blood. They have fed newborns to dogs, beheaded men and women, and clubbered and stabbed many Nigerians to death.

They have invaded even palaces and shot royal fathers dead in feasts of bestial rage; they have invaded worship places and cut down both worshippers and leaders of worship in blind, demonic rage. The land is crimson with the blood of innocent men and women, boys and girls whose lives were brutally terminated by these blood-thirsty hounds who have severed whatever vestiage of feelings of patriotism many Nigerians previously nurtured about Nigeria as a country. These outlaws, a band of rampaging killers taking advantage of Nigeria’s lax security architecture to decree death and destruction at will, are a threat to Nigeria’s continued existence. They have consistently given Nigeria a prominent spot on the Global Terrorism Index, scoffing at the authority of the Nigerian State and carrying on like imperial overlords over the hapless Nigerian populace. It is as if these criminals have the right to treat Nigerians any way they like. They have constituted themselves into an alternative government, scoffing at the authority of the Nigerian state. Sad!

It is clear that the government is not ready to address the menace of these terrorist herders. Their atrocities keep getting worse by the day, but the government pretends as if nothing is amiss, making hollow promises and going to bed thereafter, without the slightest care in the world. Yet, unless the government acts fast and tames these beasts, a conflagration that will be extremely difficult to handle is inevitable. The idea that a group of killers will take Nigeria and Nigerians for granted forever is not only illogical; it negates the facts of history.

Of course, the herders have enjoyed the patronage of the Nigerian government. For instance, under the Muhammadu Buhari administration, the government consistently rose in their defence, kicking against efforts by subnational governments to rein them in. Their atrocities were part of the reasons the regional security outfit, Amotekun, was created and they have contributed significantly to feelings of resentment against the Nigerian state, including those projected in separatist agitations. The scenario of persisting atrocities by the herdsmen speaks not just to the air of impunity surrounding them, but also the utter helplessness and nonchalance with which governors and political leaders in the affected localities treat issues concerning their people. This vexing issue ought to be high on the agenda of governors who are supposed to be the Chief Security Officers in their respective states and who should be seen on the frontlines of the resistance to these marauders, creating enough awareness on the issue and making it difficult to sweep it under the carpet.

Political leaders have to desist from leaving the victims of the criminal activities of the herdsmen in the lurch; they should help to create the necessary governmental framework to address this menace decisively and comprehensively.

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