Burned house in Egwuma. Credit: Mike Odeh James
Benue State Nigeria: on brink of state capture by Fulani terrorists
TruthNigeria
October 17, 2024
Terrorists Target Farming Communities, Killing and Burning, As Military Stands Down
By Mike Odeh James and Olikita Ekani
(Makurdi) David Onyilokwu Idah, a former United Nations Human Rights Commission Commissioner, warns that Benue State’s escalating violence resembles Zamfara State’s descent into terror a decade ago.
“In Zamfara, initial attacks by Fulani terrorists were dismissed as local disputes by the former President” Idah said to TruthNigeria. [The Fulani tribe is one of West Africa’s largest, with 9 million tribe members in Nigeria. Tens of thousands of tribe members are radicalized bandit-terrorists rampaging throughout Nigeria’s Middle Belt.]
“The federal government’s inaction allowed the terrorists to gain strength, subdue local populations, and eventually target security forces.”
Idah drew parallels between Zamfara’s history and Benue’s current crisis. “Today, Fulani Jihadists are now killing, occupying communities, and extorting farmers in Agatu and Gwer West. The federal government’s response [under President Bola Tinubu] has been similarly lackluster.”
“Just like in Zamfara, the federal government is not taking the Benue situation seriously.” Idah said with emphasis. Idah’s warning underscores concerns that continued inaction may embolden terrorists, perpetuating a cycle of violence.
Ongoing Atrocities
On Thursday, October 10, 2024, at 3 pm local time, Mr. Tersoo Visigh and his wife embarked on a perilous journey to their farm in Camp Nagi, seeking to gather food for their starving family. The farm, where Tersoo had cultivated corn before the previous attack that devastated their village of Camp Nagi held promise of sustenance.
Tersoo Visigh killed by Fulani militia. Credit Mike Odeh James
As they worked, meticulously packaging the harvested corn, a sudden and deadly ambush shook the serene atmosphere. Fulani bandit-terrorists lurking in the shadows, emerged with guns blazing, cutting down Tersoo on the very land he had tilled to feed his family.
According to Hope Ori Emmanuel of the Justice Peace and Development Commission (JPDC), his wife, witness to the horror, suffered severe beating at the hands of the ruthless Fulani terrorists . Despite life-threatening injuries, she summoned the strength to escape, fleeing back to their home, her heart heavy with trauma.
The Fulani, a group known across West Africa for their cattle-herding and historical involvement in regional jihad wars, have been linked to thousands of massacres in Nigeria. According to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, the Fulani have been responsible for 50,000 murders in the last four years.
The standard explanation for the loss of life by the U.S. Government is that farming families are being ground up in a longstanding resource war between farmers and herders.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations on May 22 that the loss of life, though regrettable, “has nothing to do with religion.”
[Genocide Watch comment: Secretary Blinken is in denial about the jihadist terrorism that targets Christian villages but leaves Muslim villages untouched. That is the official genocide denial strategy of the Africa Bureau in the US State Department to avoid doing anything to stop the genocide in Nigeria. It was the same strategy used to deny the genocide in Rwanda for its crucial first three months in 1994.]
However, the ORFA Report notes that the number of Christians killed in Benue State alone during the last four years is 2, 673 as opposed to 12 Muslim deaths.
A CHRISTIAN GENOCIDE, Casualty Summary by Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) for Benue State in ORFA’s quadrennial report. Of 3185 civilians killed from 2019 to 2023, 2673 were Christians.12 were Muslims. Courtesy of ORFA
Hacked to Death While Harvesting Corn
In another gruesome attack, Fulani ethnic militia have claimed the life of James Iornav, a 38-year-old farmer from Camp Nagi. According to Rev. Fr Cletus Bua, the Catholic Priest in charge of St. Francis Xavier Parish Agagbe, Gwer-West County in an interview with TruthNigeria, Iornav was brutally hacked to death with knives while harvesting crops on his farm.
The situation in Gwer West County is dire, with Fulani terrorists imposing a deadly blockade on farms in virtually all parts of the region, including Camp Nagi. This has forced thousands to flee into IDP camps, leaving behind their livelihoods and homes. The blockade has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis, making it difficult for residents to access basic necessities like food and water.
Okwutanobe Inferno: Fulani Scorched Earth Tactics
Map showing distance between Abuja and Egwuma.
48 hours after the attack on Camp Nagi, on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 4 pm, the usually tranquil farming community of Okwutanobe in Agatu County was thrust into an apocalyptic scene as Fulani Ethnic Militias (FEM) descended upon the defenseless village.
Speaking to TruthNigeria via Whatsapp call, a community leader in Okwutanobe, Elder Ajeklonye Adanu, explained that “with calculated precision, the assailants set ablaze every standing structure, reducing farming landings, homes, schools, and community centers to smoldering ruins.” The once-thriving village was engulfed in an inferno, as flames devoured everything in their path.
According to Adanu, “the terrorists showed no mercy, targeting not only buildings but also livestock and stored food. Local silos, containing precious harvests, were incinerated, leaving the community vulnerable to starvation.
“The attack, occurring in broad daylight, highlights the brazen nature of the perpetrators and the alarming lack of security in the region. Okwutanobe’s residents, forced to flee, now face an uncertain future, their livelihoods and homes, Adanu concluded
Military Withdrew Garrison Prior to Second Egwuma Attack
TruthNigeria earlier reported that while Fulani Jihadists were wreaking havoc in Gwer-West county on Thursday, 10th October, 2024, another group of Fulani killers were also on the rampage in Egwuma Community in Agatu County, setting fire to the remaining houses they couldn’t burn in their previous attacks on the community on Oct.1.
In a mind boggling allegation, a community leader from Egwuma, Jeremiah Desmond, told TruthNigeria that “The Military withdrew their personnel stationed in our village few days before the Thursday’s attack and haven’t returned since then.
"Our village was attacked on Independence Day, 1st October, 2024 by the same Fulani terrorists, killing 2 soldiers, our monarch and 6 other of our brothers. As the attackers were burning our community at exactly 3pm (14 hour GMT), we called the military but no response.
A few soldiers later came on bikes to a neighbouring Ogwule-Kaduna community after the attack and left immediately. As I am talking to you, there is no presence of security in our community.”
Mike Odeh James and Olikita Ekani are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria.
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