Armed bandits, on Tuesday evening, attacked four Birnin Gwari villages, killing 10 persons, while three others sustained gunshot injuries. Similarly, 20 persons are reportedly missing as 400 cattle were rustled in the moment of confusion.
The aff ected villages are; Mashigi, Dakwaro, Sabongida and Tukwakwa, adjacent Dakwaro. The ugly incident happened around 5.00pm, during which the hoodlums operated for three and half hours, shooting people at sight, following which many villagers fled into the adjacent Kamuku forest.
The attack came a day after a member of the House of Representatives, Hassan Adamu Shekarau, representing Birnin Gwari/Giwa Federal Constituency, moved a touching motion on the floor of the House over the spate of killings and attacks by the bandits. Incidentally, the four villages overran by the bandits are in his Kakangi ward. Similar motion was moved by Senator Sheu Sani, another lawmaker from Kaduna state, on the floor of the Senate.
A source within the affected Birnin Gwari villages, claimed a policeman put a call through to the commandants of the two military units stationed there, but their phones were switched off , thereby leaving the bandits to freely operate without any form of resistance from the defenceless villagers. The Birnin Gwari Vanguard for Security and Good Governance, noted that the survivors could not dare going into the forest to search for the 20 missing men, some of “who may still be alive.” Representative of the volunteers, Malam Umar Nagwadu, said: “So far, 10 bodies of people killed were recovered, while 20 are unaccounted for.
The armed bandits attacked the four villages, 10 people were killed, three people were injured with gunshots and have received treatment and discharged. 400 cattle were rustled, houses and grain stocks of the affected villages were burnt and the villagers displaced.
“The volunteers are afraid to enter the bush, which shared borders with Kamuku forest, to search for the missing people. Already, volunteers from the southern axis of Birnin Gwari and security men were mobilised to ascertain the number of casualties.” Another source, however, disclosed that the displaced villagers were in dire need of assistance, such as food, shelter and clothes. Nagwadu, who commended the federal and state governments for their efforts, lamented that the stationing of a military battalion in Birnin Gwari, was not yielding the right result.
He said: “The soldiers are not sincere; they should be sincere and cooperate with the local security, who gives their lives to save the people. “
They know better where the bandits are and how they can be found. Government should cooperate with the vigilantes to give us better arms to fight the bandits, and I believe we would succeed. We hope more troops and special police task force will be deployed.”
Buratai assures And from the Chief of Army Staff , Lt.-General Yusuf Buratai, came some comforting words that the Army would collaborate with other security agencies to dislodge the miscreants who hide in Birnin Gwari to wreck havoc on innocent citizens. Buratai, who spoke with State House correspondents shortly after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, said concerns over the unabated killings led to the formation of an army battalion in the area.
“We will continue to cooperate along with other security agencies that are charged with the responsibility of securing our country. And the deployment of a unit there is quite strategic; it is in line with the Nigerian Army order of battle that was approved in 2016.
“We have to implement all of them to achieve the strategic objectives of the government. This is essentially why we have to put the battalion there and to work with other security agencies,” he said. On the status of report regarding the activities of Boko Haram in the North-east, he gave the assurance that the ongoing Operation Last Hold by troops “will further consolidate the army’s achievements in the area.
” According to him, the operation which is aimed at consolidating on the overall successes made by the army will culminate in the eventual return of the Internally Displaced Person (IDPs) to their various communities. “It has gone very successful, it’s progressing very well and be rest assured that the Operation Last Hold will further consolidate on our achievements so far. But we hope the internally displaced persons from that community will go back to their communities and pick up their lives again.
“I think that is the aim of Operation Last Hold, it is a consolidation of the overall successes that we have achieved in the North-east.” Biometric registration as way out Meanwhile, the federal government has introduced the use of biometric registration to monitor the movement of people, goods and livestock into the country.
Minister of Interior, Lt.- General Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd), said this yesterday in Abuja at a Special Town Hall meeting to address farmers/herdsmen crisis. Dambazau said the move had become necessary as a result of the ECOWAS free movement treaty “which Nigeria is a signatory to.” He recalled that a conference was recently organised within the ECOWAS sub-region to review ECOWAS Protocol on the free movement of goods, humans and livestock.
“60 per cent of the people in West Africa are Nigerians. You need to know the number of Nigerians who cross the borders to other countries to look for a livelihood. “It is important for us to see how we can create a balance between the implementation of the protocol and the security of our borders. We have introduced the use of biometrics in other to ensure that we take account of every person that comes into Nigeria,” he said. Dambazau appealed to the media and citizens to look at the crisis between farmers and herdsmen as a national issue, urging them not to attach sentiment.
On the proliferation of light weapons, the minister said the Nigeria Police was currently asking people to openly declare their arms. He said at the expiration of the grace period, the police would cordon-off suspected areas, “forcefully get the arms out and prosecute those illegally handling them.” “We have given directive and this is why you see the police going from place to place asking people to declare their weapons.
We have given this grace after which we will go out and condone suspected areas, get the weapons out and even prosecute those illegally handling them.” Also speaking, the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, called on the state governments to work together in addressing the crisis. Similarly, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, described the farmers and herdsmen’s crisis as a global issue. Meanwhile, stakeholders who spoke during the meeting appealed to the federal government to take decisive and prompt steps toward addressing the crisis to end the recurring loss of lives and property.