The air raid purportedly carried out by military personnel, which resulted in the murder of 38 herders in the Rukubi hamlet of the Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, has been the subject of controversy.
According to several sources, the herders were slaughtered on their way back from Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, where they had gone to collect more than 1,000 cows taken by the Benue Livestock Guards.
It was learned that some of the livestocks were given to the herders by the guards after the payment of fines totaling N29 million; regrettably, they were pursued and slain while offloading the cattle shortly after they arrived at their destination in Nasarawa State.
The death of the herders on Tuesday night, according to Daily Trust, has heightened tension in Benue and Nasarawa State.
Nasarawa State, which borders Benue State, contains Rukubi.
Yesterday, tension over the killings was particularly high in the Hausa-dominated Wadata area of the Benue State capital Makurdi. Elders from the north have denounced the incident, which they claim was the consequence of racial profiling.
Governor Sule Sues For Peace
The governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, confirmed the murders in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust. He also advised the victims’ families to maintain their composure and assured them that a thorough investigation would be conducted.
Conflicting information regarding the number of victims, according to the governor.
“The government is doing everything possible. As I told you, I have not slept since yesterday (Tuesday) when this happened. I have been on it. I got up early in the morning, I spoke with the leader of the Miyetti Allah national, I spoke severally with the Miyetti Allah leader in Nasarawa State and I spoke with the security agencies.
“We sent the army and police on condolences to the people. The deputy governor also went and met these people. Our two major traditional rulers were there for the funeral prayers.
“We are doing everything possible on our side to make sure that we douse the tension,” he said.
The anti-open grazing ordinance, according to the governor’s information, led to several ranchers having their cows impounded by the Benue State government.
“They went and paid the penalty to the Benue State government, and they came back to the border where they were told to come and wait to receive their cow, so while they were waiting, the bomb exploded. There were all kinds of allegations. Initially, they thought it was an airplane that came and bombed the place, but now it has been established that it was a drone that was sent.
“A drone was sent. We do not know who sent the drone. Was it security agencies or other people we don’t know? I spoke with the governor of Benue, and I also spoke with the security agencies. Nobody is claiming responsibility that they sent the drone. So that is the true position of things,” he said.
Asked about the number of herders killed, he said, “That is very difficult to determine because various people are giving different numbers. The Fulani said 38 of their people were killed. They came for the burial in Doma this (yesterday) afternoon. The Emir of Lafia was there, Andoma of Doma was there and my deputy governor was there, sitting down there and starting to count bodies will generate another tension, so they did not.
“In Benue, the governor also told me that some bodies were brought to Benue. He even said some people were unhappy with him, because they are thinking he is responsible, so they started tearing up his posters and things like that. He can tell you those things himself, anyway. So anybody giving you any particular number right now may just be exaggerating. It has to be fully investigated before we can get the exact number of the people.”
According to the governor, he requested Governor Ortom release the remaining cattle.
Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami, the director of defense media operations, and Air Commodore Wap Maigida, the spokesperson for the air force, were both unavailable for comment last night due to “unreachable” messages on their mobile phones.
