Shocking Report of brutal genocide happening now in Benue State, Nigeria

Dear Praying Friends of the Lord,

What is happening in Nigeria is brutal, barbaric and shocking. Shocking that mainstream media and many governments, including the US, to blame it on everything but the evil of the anti-Christ spirit and demonic deception. 

Here is an article  that came out today for more info: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19648/murdered-like-animals-the-genocide-of-christians

Good evening and Grace be with you today.

This is the report I promised to pass to you from Benue state of Nigeria, the epicenter of farmers/herders conflicts in Nigeria that have resulted into loss of thousands of lives and properties coupled with economic and social challenges.

The report is compiled for me by my spiritual son, Eng Kwande, an indigene of Benue and a top government functionary in the Benue state government of Nigeria, purposely to give you a well-balanced and robust report in righteousness.

About 95% of the Benue state population are Christians; this makes this report worthy of study and implementation of many of the recommendations as the Lord will give you and other partners grace.

I pray the Holy Spirit guides as you go through the report.

Amen  

Blessings 

In His Glorious Service,

David Adesina

Graceland International Apostolic Center 

Abuja, Nigeria  



PREAMBLE
Benue State is one of the states in Nigeria, which is proned to insecurity. The intermittent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the state has prompted many to investigate the causes, effects and probable solutions to the insecurity in the state.

It is discovered that the rapid climatic changes, cattle rustling, religious and ethnic dichotomies and the scramble over cultivable and grazing fields were the main causes of the insecurity which resulted in the death of over four thousand people, displacement of over half a million persons, gang rapes and the abduction of women as sex slaves.

It is therefore recommended that the state should help farmers and herdsmen resolve conflict resolution systems that made them co-existed peacefully prior to the advent of the conflict, and that the state should ensure human security through education, job opportunities and the increased physical presence of law enforcement agencies throughout the state.

Benue State is one of the North Central in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the seven states created at that time. The state derives its name from the Benue River which is the second largest river in Nigeria. The state borders Nasarawa State to the North, Taraba State to the East, Kogi State to the West, Enugu State to the South-West, Ebonyi and Cross-Rivers States to the South, and has an international border with Cameroon to the South-East. It is inhabited predominantly by the Tiv, Idoma and Igede. Minority ethnic groups in Benue are Etulo, Igbo, Jukun people etc. its capital is Makurdi. Benue is a rich agricultural region, popularly grown crops include: oranges, mangoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, soya bean, guinea corn, yams, sesame, rice, groundnuts and palm tree.

In 1991, some areas of Benue State (mostly the Igala speaking area), along with areas in Kwara State, were carved out to become part of the new Kogi State. Igbo people are found in the boundary areas like the Obi, Oju etc., local government areas.

Benue as a state has been a host to many insecurities. From the civil war of 1967 that nearly ripped it apart, through the woes of unknown gun men, Idoma-Tiv conflicts, to the most recent Farmers-Fulani herdsmen altercation etc., there is nearly no one in Benue who has not experienced the bitter taste of insecurity. The farmers-herders conflict was scattered all over the country but concentrated in Benue State.

Benue state has a population of about 4,253,641 (National Population Commission, 2010). The land is surrounded by water from one of the largest rivers in Nigeria. Its fertility and  availability of water all year round makes the state attractive to both farmers and herdsmen

Benue state happens to be one of the states in Central Nigeria that host a lot of agricultural activities. Its inhabitants call it “The Food Basket of the Nation”. About 80% of Nigerians living in Benue Stat are employed in the agricultural sector.

In the past, the farmers and the pastoralist co-existed without any problems. In recent times, however, the hitherto harmonious co-existence became acrimonious.

Benue state has been wrapped in a series of insecurities since the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorate zones by the colonial masters.
It is noteworthy that Tiv people have been involved in other fights with their neighbours in states that border Benue. The recurrent fight been Tiv and Jukuns saw some attacks launched in some villages in Benue State. Tiv people have also been involved in fights with other ethnic groups like Alago, Mada and Migili all in Nasarawa State.
The most recent fracas involving Benue indigenes (mostly Tivs) and another is the farmer-herders conflict. There have been fierce and bloody attacks and reprisal attacks between these two groups. Fulanis accuse local farmers of blocking their grazing routes and cultivating their grazing fields. The farmers also accuse the Fulani herdsmen of destroying their farmlands, raping their women and destroying their sources of drinking water by allowing their animals to drink from the same rivers that they drink from. These accusations and counter accusations have led to fierce clashes between the two groups. On March 12, 2016, Agatu stole the headlines of many dailies in Nigeria. About 500 people were massacred by Fulani herdsmen and 7000 others displaced (Punch, 2016).
In investigating the causes and effects of the farmers-herders conflict in Benue State, the open grazing prohibition and ranches establishment policy in Benue State was also considered to draw a correlation between the implementation of the policy and the escalation of attacks.

What are the causes and the effects of insecurity in Benue State and its manifestations on the social and economic lives of the people of Benue State?

Farmers accused the herdsmen of destroying their crops, contaminating sources of drinking water, raping their women and young girls and inhabiting lands which do not belong to them. The herdsmen also accused farmers of cultivating on grazing routes, rustling or killing their cattle and cultivating grazing lands. This made both communities to be aggressive and identified themselves into Fulani community and the farmer’s community which led to the bloody conflict in the Benue State of Nigeria. Farmers complained of crop destruction, contaminations of stream by the cattle, disregard for traditional authority, over grazing of fallow lands, sexual harassement of women by nomads (Fulanis) and theft of farm produce in Benue. These accusations and counter accusations led to fierce clashes between the two groups.

Going through the media reports, one is likely to conclude that herders are just uncivilized, barbaric people who are just to kill and destroy farmers in order to take over their farms for grazing fields. It is observed however that, this contradict the popular notion fertilized and promoted by the media.

Cattle rustling came up strongly as one of the main causes of the intractable farmers-herders conflict. As soon as the relationship between the Farmers and Herders became soured, criminal elements from both divide took advantage of the situation and began to rustle cattle. Many herders admitted to losing thousands of cattle to bandits. At the beginning, this began as a form of revenge for defenceless farmers whose crops were destroyed by armed herders; however, with time it became sophisticated and served as a source of income for many.

Some analysts observed that in February of 2013, not less than twenty-three thousand herders were displaced from Benue into Cameroun by Bandits after rustling their cattle. Bandits syndicated, attacked and rustled cattle from herders who were unprotected and defenceless. Many alleged that there was a ready market in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State for rustled cattle. One argued that cattle rustling is a lucrative ‘business’ across the globe and there are often ready markets for them. And others observed that in 2014 alone about 300 herders were killed and 700 cattle rustled while a thousand others displaced. These acts of banditry are made possible and easier because of the massive proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Africa. Statistics on such issues is often difficult to come by in Africa, but the Center  for Democratic Development (CDD) in Abuja, Nigeria managed to discover that there are about seven hundred to eight hundred million small arms and light weapons in West Africa alone and the majority of them find themselves into Nigeria. This makes criminal acts such as banditry and armed robbery easier. It also accounts for the numerous ethno-religious clashes that has become a basic characteristic of the Nigerian weak state or perhaps has contributed in weakening the state. The herders were sometimes attacked at night or during the daytime as they shepherd their herds and were either killed or beaten and their herds rustled away. To ensure security for themselves, the herders began to arm themselves as they shepherded their flocks. They resorted to self-defence. A Fulani has this to say “They attack and kill our people and rustle our cows without any reasons and we are being treated as if we are not Nigerians and as if livestock rearing is least important than farming thus our resolve to defend ourselves. The media is also silent on the causalities suffered by the herdsmen. They look at us a animals, the Benue State government and the farmers and the media are all teamed against us. Few years ago the Military attacked and killed six of our men and 350 cows along Gwer Local Government of Benue State. No one said anything, but if a Fulani kills a single farmer, the story will be everywhere”.
The phenomenon of cattle rustling is not new but has become sophisticated. The phenomenon, however, received a boost as Nigeria headed into recession and means of livelihood became leaner. It is said that desperate times call for desperate measures, but not at the expense of another right to life and property. The Fulanis who constitute 90% of Nigerian herders do not see the herds just as a means of livelihood but also as representative of their economic, social and cultural identities. It is alleged that many of those who lost their herds to rustlers became physically sick, died or suffered from one form of mental illness or the other. The twist is that herders did not quite differentiate farmers from armed bandits because they felt the bandits were fighting for the farmers, so when bandits attacked and rustle their cows, they attacked and killed farmers without discriminating between farmers and bandits.
Benue State became their target for various reasons. Apart from the fact that they felt Makurdi, the capital of Benue State provided ready markets for their rustled herds, herders were irked by the apparent threat of been displaced from Benue by the implementation of the anti-open grazing policy formulated by the Benue State government. These made Benue State the epicenter of the farmers-herders conflict. According to the National Secretary of the Miyetti Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, that herders had lost over two million cows to rustlers in the last two years and most of which ended up in trucks to Makurdi to be transported to the southern part of the country. The media remained mute on some of these.

MODUS OPERANDI OF FARMERS-HERDERS SECURITY CHALLENGE

The conflict started between herders and farmers on a low key. It spawned and ebbed within varied times. Initially, the traditional system of conflict resolution in such villages was functional. Conflicts were therefore settled using the customary systems of conflict resolution which often took the forms of reparation and retribution. As time passed, the institution became weak.
Banditry was once seen as a show of bravery and love for one’s nation. People who felt discriminated by a system could come out and fight not just for themselves but for their entire nation or clan.  The group began to attack the Fulani herdsmen in the name of defending farmers. The attacks increased in scope and frequency with the passage of time as decent means of livelihood became shirked due to a declining economy. The attacks occurred in rural areas where the presence of regular security personnel is almost absent. Bandits attack herders at dawn when all the herds have been assembled at a point after grazing the previous day. they come with heavy arms which outweighs those of herders. They shoot and kill those who try to resist and rustle their cattle away. It has been revealed that Bandits rustled mostly cattle because they are easy to control and fetch more income as compare to goats or sheep. The absence of security in these rural areas makes it easy for bandits to operate with free hands. Sometimes bandits would attack herdsmen in the field as they shepherd their flock and rustle the cattle away. These attacks often sparked revenge attacks. The revenge attacks are always targeted at local farmers. Herders attacked and killed indiscriminately, young and old, men and women, disabled and abled without recourse to the laws of the land. Militaries deployed to check the incessant attacks under the caption ‘Operation Whirl Stroke’ were occasionally attacked and killed. On the 27th of June 2018, herdsmen ambushed the Military in Guma LGA, shot and killed two personnel and injured the unit Commander.
Such attacks were occasion; those who were mostly attacked were local farmers. Most of the attacks were launched in the night or at dawn when farmers were asleep. Some observed that Hausa-Fulani herdsmen have used various weapons, tactics and strategies to kill, injure, adduct and displaced farmers from their homes. In Benue State alone, it was observed that between January, 2017 to June 2018, 4194 farmers were killed while 24, 148 others were displaced.
From one of the Herdsmen “They connive with criminals and steal our cows are to us what their farms are to them so if they don’t want us to destroy their farms, why steal our cows, between 2013-2018, more than 10,000 of our cows have been rustled in this state alone, close to 2000 herdsmen were killed in the attacks. No media reported this because we are not human beings. It is not only here that our cattle have been stolen. Herdsmen in Nasarawa, Plateau, Adamawa and the other surrounding states have suffered the same fate; Makurdi is the market for most of the rustled cows. To make things worse, the Benue State Government has started implementing the open grazing prohibition and ranch establishment law. This means no cow can graze freely in Benue State. They however know that our method of grazing cannot fit into what they are prescribing; they have just created a legal ground to exterminate us and our cattle. They are envious of our wealth. They know very well that Benue State is the route we pass to the southern part of the country. Many of our people are unaware of this law so they would just fall victim. The law in a way permits Benue people to steal our cows or kill them at will in the name of implementing the policy. We do not attack without first of all being provoked, when you hear of any attack, then know that is it a revenge attack”.
Given as it may, the destruction caused by Fulani herdsmen to farmers is too obtrusive. The conflict between farmers and herdsmen in Benue has been asymmetrical. While Fulani herdsmen posses sophisticated weapons and ammunitions, farmers rely on locally manufactured guns and machets that cannot match those of the herdsmen.

EFFECTS OF INSECURITY IN BENUE STATE VIA FARMERS-HERDSMEN CONFLICTS

The effects of these conflicts are however unquantifiable.
People are killed, children are slaughtered or orphaned, men and women widowed, wives separated from their husbands and husbands from their wives. Families are rendered homeless and the youth hopeless. Besides, Benue State is arguably the food production hub of Nigeria. Many Nigerians who come from this region are directly or indirectly employed in the agricultural sector. Most of these attacks happen when people are in the farms or farmstead. If people fear to be killed while in remote locations, definitely, many would abandon their farms. This would definitely lead to unemployment, heightened poverty, hunger and famine. I got to know that were the major effects of the farmers-herders conflict in Benue State.

LOSS OF LIVES AND PROPERTIES

In any wars, casualties are always recorded. People are killed and properties destroyed. The case of Benue is particular worst because many of those attacked were relatively poor, economically deprived and socially isolated. Apart from their farms or cattle, they had no any other source of livelihood. Local farmers suffered the most casualties as they had no sophisticated weapons to match those of the herdsmen and were mostly taken unawares. The table below reveals the number of casualties and houses that were razed down in each of the Local Governments.
Table 1: Number of people killed, houses burnt and cattle killed or rustled between 2013-2018 in Benue State.
LGA
NO. OF FARMERS KILLED
NO. OF HERDERS KILLED
NO. OF HOUSES BURNT
NO. OF CATTLE RUSTLED/KILLED

Agatu
102
4
7,663
209

Guma
1501
2
63800
301

Gwer East
21
1
501
45

Gwer West
801
5
42,012
53

Katsina-Ala
102
0
11,600
5

Kwande
81
0
21,500
8

Logo
215
6
2901
23

Makurdi
501
4
25702
167

Keana
50
11
312
39

Tarka
52
0
67
0

Total
3426
33
176058
850

Source: Documents from the Benue State Emergency Management Unit, Christian Association of Nigeria Benue and Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders of Nigeria; Benue State Chapter.
About 3426 farmers were killed as compared to 33 herdsmen. Farmers also had about 176058 of their houses razed down. About 850 cattle were either killed or rustled. Guma local government suffered the most causalities. This is probably because Guma is one of the largest Local Governments in Benue State with Most of its farmer population scattered in several farming communities. Their system of settlement makes them easy prey for the attackers because they are scattered in far remoted farmstead which makes it difficult to access even if security outpost is to be stationed there. Their houses are mostly thatch-roofed houses built with bricks. This makes it easily consumed by fires. Their income levels can hardly meet their demands let alone buying weapons for self-defense. When herders attack, they are easily overcome. It is understood that herders may not use sophisticated weapons from hand-held rifles to AK 47s but sometimes they choose not to waste their ammunitions on defenceless farmers. They simply hack them down with their double-edge machetes. Where they encountered any resistance, they resort to their sophisticated weapons and get the deed done.

DISPLACEMENT
The conflict has displaced many people and rendered many homeless. Herders were also displaced, but since they are transhumance by nature, most of them have resettled in neighbouring states like Nasarawa and Adamawa.
A Fulani man has this to say “Many of our people are forced to relocate from Benue. More than 10 million cattle have been moved to the neighbouring states because of the conflict. The Government has also passed a law if we don’t move they will use legal technicalities to kill our cattle. Some of them are envious of us. They just want to posses our possessions. We have left their lands for them but we shall be back”.
Over 300000 people are believed to be living in camps set up for IDs in Makurdi and other part of the state. The table below summarize the statistics of internally displaced persons within Benue.
Table 2: Number of People Displaced Between Jan. 2015-July 2018
LGA
NO.  OF FARMERS DISPLACED
NO. HERDERS DISPLACED

Agatu
3212
217

Guma
1012
314

Gwer East
3466
122

Gwer West
4566
78

Katsina
2233
308

Kwande
4132
132

Logo
5320
123

Makurdi
4234
301

TOTAL
28175
1595

Source: Field Work
About 28175 farmers were displaced; some went to IDPs camps set by the government others too went to squat with relatives in some other places within and outside the state. Other people relocated completely with no hope of coming back. The fact that sometimes the herdsmen unleashed terror on farmers so much so that they resolve never to return to their old settlement even though that is their ancestral home. More people were displaced in Logo than any other Local Government. This is because Logo has few major towns most of the population is spread into the hinterland for farming purposes. This makes it difficult for any defense system to be mounted against the Fulani herdsmen. Farmers could not defend themselves let alone attacking the herdsmen. The few causalities suffered by the herdsmen were orchestrated by cattle rustlers and some security personnel who were deployed at flash points under operation whirl stroke to curb the attacks on farmers. The 1595 herdsmen who were displaced were not displaced because they feared to be attacked by farmers alone. Most them relocated because of the anti-open grazing policy which was being implemented by the Governor at that time. The policy prohibits open grazing and offenders were to be arrested and prosecuted. Fulanis are transhumance and cannot practice the ranch system which was being proposed by the law so most of them had to relocate to other places to be able to practice their free range system of rearing their animals. The implementation of the law was one of the things that angered them and they resolved to destroy Benue.
A Fulani man has this to say “Most of us were borne here. Our parents lived and died here. We grazed our animals here. All of a sudden, they are finding a technical way of driving us away. We were given till 1st November, 2017 to put our animals into ranches; ranches which were not given. States like Kaduna, Bauchi and Oyo which attempted this type of law had established grazing reserves. In the case of Benue State, there was nothing like this. We were simply told to comply with the law or simply relocate. It was a grand plan to get us out. We left. I know families who lost half of their cattle to rustlers as they were relocating to other states. Some lost their family members in addition to countless cattle. All these must have angered some of them who have now embarked on a revenge mission. Findings revealed that public sensitization and education on the scope of the open grazing prohibition and ranch establishment law was given and that in addition the state gave a six-month grace period for everyone to come to terms with the law before its implementation.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN:

  In Benue conflicts, women and children were indiscriminately killed. That there was no discrimination during raids; women and children were killed along with the men. Some of the women were raped to dead while others were simply hacked down, some too were abducted and taken to bush and tied on trees and allowed to cry to dead.
Young girls as young as twelve were raped and killed during attacks and some were abducted in their farms and taken away.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

Besides physical problems like permanent injuries or disabilities, separation from parents, wives, children and love ones and the loss of cohesive social systems that existed prior to the wars, victims of war suffer varying psychological problems from depression to trauma. The sight of relatives being hacked down helpless and that of helpless relatives being abducted, raped or beaten remain alive in victims’ mind for long.

One of the men narrates “They came at dawn, I was asleep with my wife and the children were also in their separate rooms. We have a system of keeping all the girls in one room and the boys too in another room. When we heard the gunshots everyone run out and we took different directions. They shot indiscriminately and killed two of my eldest children right before my eyes, they abducted my wife and she kept calling me. Some of the children managed to escape but were chased and shot dead. Some of the girls also tried to escape some made it were abducted raped and killed. My wife, till today I have not heard from her again. Of about twenty-two (22) family members, we are now nine (9) left. I have attempted killing myself several times but my brothers would not let me do it. Of what purpose is life to me? What is my used when I could not help my wife who was shouting my name as she was abducted by the marauding herdsmen”.

PROBABLE SOLUTIONS TO THE INSECURITY IN BENUE STATE
Resolving the farmers-herders conflict hinges largely on the understanding between the two groups and not by the power of the bullet. Farmers and herders should find ways of revitalizing the customary system of conflict resolution so that they may explore common grounds through these mechanisms and co-exist together for mutual benefits.
The federal and state governments should find adequate ways of ensuring human security through education, economic empowerment and poverty reduction. This will be better achieved by the creation of grazing reserves and gazette of grazing routes so that pastoralist could have access to education, modern technologies and can enjoy the rights and privileges that are due to every Nigerian.

The government at all levels should sensitize its people on the need to go beyond ethnicity and religion and evaluate issues with objective lenses.

The state government should encourage a cluster system of settlement among rumours that security can be provided to them. This requires the strengthening of herders’ civil associations like the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kyauta Hore which would aggregate the needs for the rearing of herds and connecting them to the appropriate authority for proper action.

 

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