By TINA TIMOTHY

The Ayatutu Cultural and Social Development Initiative (AYACASODI) has accused the Nigerian Army of assisting Fulani herdsmen on the genocidal killings of Tiv people in Gbeji, Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State in the wee hours of Wednesday October 19, 2022.

According to a statement on Thursday, October 20, 2022, signed by members of the group’s Interim Leadership; Chief Baaki Timothy, Comrade Deacon David Nyiagee and Mr. Cliff Iormba, AYACASODI condemned the killings and destruction of properties and urged the relevant authorities to take necessary steps to prosecute the perpetrators as well as prevent future occurrence.

The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to the genocidal killings of the unarmed Tiv people in Gbeji, Ukum LGA, Benue State by the Fulani Killer herdsmen, with the assistance of the Nigerian Army Personnel based in Kente, Wukari LGA, Taraba State on Wednesday 19th October 2022.

“As a group solely aimed at developing the cultural and social lives of Tiv origins, we are here today to condemn the killing and destruction of properties, and to call the respective authorities to look into the matter with the aim of ensuring the perpetrators faced the law and avoiding further occurrence.

“In the early hours of Wednesday, 19/10/2022, the Fulani killer herdsmen invaded the Gbeji community when the people were deeply asleep, attacking them with heavy arms and ammunition.”

The group further alleged that apart from 42 unarmed Tiv people, including women and children, two police officers; an Inspector and a Constable, also lost their lives and several others sustained various degrees of injuries, lamenting that the “gruesome attack came just a month after the same killer Fulani herdsmen attacked Mchia and Mou villages in Logo LGA” of the state.

“This attack lasted for hours led to the killings of more than 42 unarmed Tiv people, including women and children, with a lot receiving treatment at different hospitals after sustaining severe injuries; not just that, properties worth millions were destroyed in the same attack.

“The said attack also saw the death of two (2) police officers (an Inspector and a Constable) who were shot professionally by suspected Nigerian Army Personnel who accompanied the Fulani killer herdsmen.

“As a matter of fact, these Tiv people were killed with the use of heavy and sophisticated weapons which are not constitutionally allowed to be possessed by civilians nor used for civil cases. Weapons supposed to be used in order to protect Nigerian Citizens were rather used against same citizens.

“This gruesome attack came just a month after the same Fulani killer herdsmen attacked Mchia and Mou villages in Logo LGA on September 22, 2022, around 1:00am, butchering unarmed Tiv people in large numbers, including women and children,” the statement added.

AYACASODI, while referring to a similar attack 21 years ago, reiterated that the recent attack was not the first time “the Nigerian Army personnel would be colluding with the Fulani militias to attack our people.”

“It will interest you to note that this is not the first time the Nigerian Army personnel are colluding with the Fulani militias to attack our people. In fact it is already a history that, 21 years after the same Nigerian Army personnel invaded this same Gbeji town on October 21, 2001, they came back to same town for same purpose on the October 19, 2022.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, information reaching us has it that, on that same morning after the attack, the Nigerian Army based in Kente under Operation Whilst Stroke, headed by one Officer Abbas, came looking for one of their colleagues who was missing after the same attack.

“To put the record straight, we call on the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Army Staff, General Commanding Officer (GCO), 93 Battalion Takum, and whoever is capable to visit the Kente Base of the Nigerian Army and seek to see all the personnel posted in the base, and explain why they could not act urgently to help the defenceless Gbeji town from the hands of those invaders.

“The Nigerian Army Base in Gov (a Tiv neighboring village) was emptied and the personnel joined those in Kente (a Jukun neighboring village) shortly before the incident. And there are two checkpoints in Kente, the first one is just a one kilometre to Gbeji while the other is less than 2km, where the personnel are based. With this closeness, those who are supposed to defend the defenceless, heard gun shots but could not come out to help, rather they came same morning asking for one of their colleagues; and when Officer Abbas was called, he said he is on top of the situation,” the group stated.

The group consequently called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Minister of Defence, Chief of Army Staff, GCO 93 Battalion Takum, President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, the Chairman of Ukum Local Government Council, members of the House of Assembly, House of Representatives and the Senate to play their respective roles in investigating the involvement of the Nigerian Army, Kente Base, to apprehend the perpetrators, forestalling future occurrence and avoid “giving medicine after death.”

The statement continues, “We call on the Inspector General of Police to investigate the matter very well because two of his very own were directly affected. Let him investigate the difference in gun shots control between those who were aiming at the Nigerian Police officers and those who were sporadically shooting the civilians.

“We once again call on the Minister of Defence, Chief of Army Staff, GCO 93 Battalion Takum and H.E. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to investigate the involvement of the Nigerian Army Kente Base, to ensure the perpetrators were brought to book and to employ adequate measures towards ending the Fulani continuous genocidal killings on Tiv people.

“We also call on H.E. Dr. Samuel Ortom, the Governor of Benue State, to be proactive, his Volunteer Guards were not seen closed to the venue of incident. There is no need telling the whole world how prepared you are for security and defence when your people are continuously being butchered with knives and there has been no self-defence of whatsoever kind. The incident in Mchia, Logo LGA is still fresh in our mind where Fulani went to a Tiv settlement deep inside Benue State and butchered people in large numbers.

“Not just that, we also call on the Chairman Ukum LGC, to be proactive. We appreciate his quick visit to the scene, however it is just like giving medicine after death. We wish to remind the House of Assembly member, House of Representatives member and the Senator representing these people, that their constituents are not seeing peace, there is no security for them, one day you will come for campaign and meet only corpses to ask you, “where were you when the Fulani herdsmen were killing us? Did we vote for you to sit in Abuja and only come home after 4 years?”

Claiming that the agenda of the Fulani herdsmen is to eliminate Tiv farmers from their ancestral homeland, AYACASODI also said there was no attack on the Fulani’s prior to this attack, hence the call for the arrest of those who reported that it was a reprisal attack.

“Those reporting that the attack was a reprisal attack should be arrested for mockery and public deceit. For clarity purposes, there was no attack on the Fulani prior to this said, well planned attack.

“We call on the general public to be aware that the agenda of the Fulani herdsmen to eliminate Tiv farmers from their ancestral homeland is still ongoing and the Fulanis are receiving back up from different angles. We call on anybody who can help to come for the rescue of our people,” AYACASODI pleaded.