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From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi
Palpable fear has spread to Makurdi, the Benue state capital, following the killing of some residents of Wadata, a Makurdi suburb, in a military operation in Nasarawa state.
Wadata is a riverside settlement in Makurdi, housing people of Hausa/ Fulani origin.
Our correspondent gathered that at the early hours of Wednesday, some suspected bandits, numbering 42, were killed in an air strike operation in Nasarawa area bordering Benue and when the relatives brought home the bodies of the deceased, the community were enraged and began to mobilize for protest.
Our source said it took the intervention of some security operatives to bring calm back to the area.
A relative of one of the deceased Bello Abdulsalam (a lawyer) told newsmen on phone that he lost a cousin in the perceived military attack.
According to him, his cousin had gone to a settlement called Dakolo behind NASME barracks to retrieve his cattle that were seized by Livestock Guards when the incident happened.
He said, “The incident happened Tuesday night at about 8:30 pm at Dakolo settlement behind NASME. He had gone to carry his cows and It was while they were offloading them that fighter jet came and dropped bomb on them killing 42 of them one of them was my cousin brother his name is Jaallat Danbata.”
He expressed pains and called on Security agencies to look into the matter and give them justice.
Also speaking, the Secretary of Miyeitti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, (MACBAN), Ibrahim Galma also claimed that some of their members were killed by military when they had gone to offload their seized cattle retrieved from the state livestock guards.
But in a swift reaction, the military had denied killing herders saying those that were killed in the operation on Tuesday night were terrorists.
A military source who spoke on condition to remain anonymous, said the operation was at the orders of Chief of Defense Staff, General Lucky Irabo who responded to series of correspondence from the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, over the influx and regrouping of terrorists in the state.
“Following increasing killings, kidnappings and terrorism by the Darul Salam Boko Haram elements running away from troops onslaught in the Northeast and Northwest parts of the country, a combined team of security agencies conducted operations into the heart of the terrorists enclaves in Nasarawa State on 24 January 2023 where they were observed from the air to be gathering for a meeting and possible attack.”
The military source further said that the combined security operations were initiated around 30 December 2022 following the unwarranted attacks by the elements in Kadarko axis and the kidnapping of six primary school children in Doma all of Nasarawa State on 19 January 2023.
The source further explained that the terrorists had recently destroyed the wooden bridge over a stream leading to their hideouts in one of their forests to prevent troops from reaching their locations easily while they were digging military-like trenches to take cover.
As at the time of filing this report, the commander, Operation Whirl Stroke, (OPWS), Major General Kevin Aligbe could not be reached for comments but the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom confirmed the anxiety in Wadata area of Makurdi.
Speaking through the Special Adviser on Security Matters, Lt. Col. Paul Hemba, rtd, “I heard about operation carried out in Nasarawa state by the military but some people from the state were said to have been killed.
He said “there was no attacks between the boundaries of Benue and Nasarawa state. No herders were killed. I also heard about the planned protest but no such killings happened in Benue state.
While responding to allegations by the APC that the state government was rustling cattle and have so far rustled over 600 herds, the security aide dismissed the allegations by the APC saying it was mischief and politics taken too far.
He said it was wrong for anyone to politicize the security of lives and property in the state or incite a people against the government and urged the party to exercise restraint for the peace and development of the state..
