Enugu State government has maintained its policy of silence following scaled-up attacks on residents of the state by armed Fulani herdsmen.
Herdsmen have killed a total of twenty persons in the state in the past 11 days just as there are claims by insiders that the state government pays heavily to suppress reports of attacks by herders in the state.
On July 26, Fulani herdsmen attacked Opanda, a farming settlement in Nimbo, Uzo Uwani local government area, killing 12 persons and injuring over 10 others.
Residents of the area said the attack came days after the herders openly threatened to deal with some farmers for blocking their cows from grazing on their farmlands.
However, the threat was reported to the Nimbo police station but the police refused to act.
“A week later, the attack took place as they promised,” a resident of the area simply identified as Chinedu told Standardobservers.
“They held the men down and slit their throats while the women were shot after being raped.
“The police only came to carry the corpses of the victims and helped to evacuate the injured to Nsukka for treatment,” he said.
Five days after the attack on Opanda, herders ambushed some residents of Mgbuji Community in Isi Ụzo local government area, killing eight persons, including two pregnant women whose stomachs were ripped open and the foetuses removed.
Some residents of Mgbuji while speaking to Standardobservers accused the police of aiding the herders.
They said that after the herders attacked the community in May, killing 9 persons, the police asked them to sign an undertaking, agreeing to live peacefully with the invaders before the corpses of the victims could be released.
According to them, part of the undertaking is to also assign land to the herders.
They, however, added that they refused to sign the undertaking, describing it as strange.
Policy of silence
When contacted by Standardobservers to comment on the attack in Opanda, the public relations officer of the state police command, Daniel Ndukwe said that three persons were killed. The figure he gave out varied from that released by the leadership of the community which put the figure at 12.
The Enugu state government, through the Commissioner for Information, Chidi Alor, equally declined to comment on measures put in place by the government to mitigate future attacks.
The government also did not condole with the community on the attack.
Five days after the attack on Mgbuji, both the state government and the police have refused to speak on the incident, despite several inquiries made by journalists.
Some residents of Enugu said the governor’s silence is based on the fact that the attacks took place in his zone, Nsukka Senatorial zone, adding that there is a political reason for it.
According to them, the governor’s silence on the attacks in the zone is exactly the opposite of his response when such occurs in Enugu East which parades political heavyweights like former governors Jim Nwobodo, Chimaroke Nnamani; and former Senate President, Ken Nnamani.
According to them, when gunmen killed five police officers in Nkanu in July, the governor personally paid condolence visits to their families. They also cited the instance of a police officer who killed five persons at Golf Estate in June, added that he had equally applied such swiftness in tackling political issues affecting the zone.
Lack of political will to tackle the herdsmen menace
There is a lack of political will to tackle the herdsmen menace in the region. Despite the South-East governors’ Forum passing a resolution in April for each member-state to pass the Ebubeagu Security Network bill into law and make it operational, only two states; Imo and Ebonyi have domesticated such bill while the security outfit is only operational in Ebonyi.
Analysts contend, however, that the resolution to set up a regional security outfit by the governors was a political tool to counter the growing influence of the Eastern Security Network, ESN, set up by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
They argued further that since ESN has been suppressed by the Nigerian security agencies, the governors have relaxed in their quest to secure the region against herdsmen attacks.
In June, Major General Obi Abel Umahi (rtd), the chairman of the South East Security Committee, resigned his appointment.
According to a letter dated June 4, 2021, and titled: “Resignation as Chairman Southeast Security Committee – Ebubeagu” which was addressed to the chairman of the South East Governor’s Forum, Dave Umahi, the General cited a lack of funds for take-off of the outfit as the reason for his decision to step down.
The letter was also copied to the president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ambassador George Obiozor.
Umahi said the southeast governors had stifled it of funds and without providing it with an office space.
According to him: “Since this Security Committee was formed, we deliberated and agreed on ways to raise security consciousness down to the community level in Igbo land, mode of operations, logistics and some types of equipment required, such as drones, vehicles etc. We also crafted the Concept of SE Security.
“Additionally, I chaired a 21-man Committee set up to draft a legal framework for the SE Security outfit. The committee was composed of members of the SE Security committee, the Attorney generals of the five Southeast states and some prominent Igbo sons and daughters. The 21-man Legal Framework Committee was funded to completion by the Governor of Ebonyi State.
“On 11th April 2021, SE Governors announced the formation of EBUBEAGU at Owerri. Subsequently, the draft legal framework produced by the 21-man Committee was reviewed by SE Security Committee members and the Attorney Generals of the five Se States to suit South East Ebubeagu Security outfit.
“The SE Security Committee thoroughly prepared and submitted the modalities, including the structure, for the take-off of EBUBEAGU to the Governors’ Forum during the security of South-East Governors’ Forum, attended by the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide and some other Igbo leaders presented a request that Ebubeagu should be jointly rolled out as a matter of urgency and also funded by the Government of the five SE States. From inception to date, SE Security Committee was never funded at all in any capacity and not even an office space was provided.
“I respectfully request that Your Excellencies kindly permit me to resign my appointment as the chairman, SE Security Committee in the spirit of my love to serve Ndigbo, I can assure you that I will always be available to advise on the success of Ebubeagu at no cost, just as I served as the Chairman of South-East Security Committee from 31 August 2019 till date at no cost directly or indirectly to the five South-East State Government, groups and individual. I highly appreciate Your Excellencies for the opportunity you gave me to serve Ndigbo.”
Another pointer to the lack of political will by the governors to tackle the herdsmen menace is the resolution by the Southern Governors Forum for member-states to pass and sign the anti-open grazing law.
While Abia has an existing law banning open grazing, the remaining 4 states have failed to abide by the resolution reached in Lagos and send the bill to their respective assemblies.
Also, despite having a law banning open grazing, herders have continued to attack and kill residents of Abia State, especially in the Ohafia axis.
Analysts believe that if the Ebubeagu security outfit is given legal backing, it will have legal powers to checkmate the influx of herdsmen into the state and prevent future attacks.
