Insurgents and bandits held sway in Borno, Katsina, Adamawa and Kogi states killing over 123 innocent citizens in separate attacks between Tuesday and Wednesday.
The tragic incidents occurred as Sokoto state Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Sultan of Sokoto Abubakar Sa’ad III, both warned against politicisation of security issues.
Borno
Narrating their ordeal Wednesday to the visiting governor of Borno state, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, residents of Faduma Kolomdi village in Gubio local government area of the state, said some 81 persons were killed Tuesday during a deadly Boko Haram attack on the community.
Faduma Kolomdi is a nomadic village located some 35 kilometres in the north of Gubio, headquarters of the local government area.
But sources said the number of casualties was likely to be higher.
Spokesperson of the community and a survivor of the attack (name unknown), also said 13 persons were injured and seven others, including village head were abducted.
The only survivor, who is a male adult, gave the account during Zulum’s visit.
“The insurgents in gun trucks and armoured tanks came around 10am yesterday (Tuesday). They operated for about six hours and left around 4pm.
“They gathered us and said they wanted to deliver religious sermon to us. They asked us to submit whatever arm we had. Some villagers gave up their dane guns, bow and arrows.
“The insurgents pretended as if they were not there for any violence. Suddenly, they started shooting at will. Even children and women were not spared; many were shot at close range. Many started running.
“At the end, many persons were killed. We have been burying people since from 10:00pm last night to about 6 this morning. We have buried 49 corpses here while another 32 corpses were taken away by families from the villages around us. The insurgents abducted seven persons, including our village head. They went away with 400 cattle” he said.
While sympathising with the people over the attack, Governor Zulum urged the Nigerian military to undertake a final onslaught that would put an end to the insurgency in the Lake Chad region.
Zulum, who described the attack as barbaric and unfortunate, later directed his convoy to evacuate five injured persons for treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
He said: “Last year, about same number of people were killed in Gajiram like it happened again. This is barbaric. It is very unfortunate. The only solution to end this massacre is by dislodging the insurgents in the shores of Lake Chad. Doing so will require collaborative regional efforts.”
It was observed, that the insurgents did not set the place ablaze as they often did in other attacks.
Katsina
And from five villages in Faskari local government area of Katsina state, Blueprint gathered that not less than 40 people were killed by gunmen in separate attacks.
Public Relations Officer of Katsina State Police Command SP Gambo Isah confirmed the attacks in Kadisau village which claimed 20 lives.
Similarly, residents of Kalabawa, Kakwawa Unguwar Wahabi and Raudama told journalists that at least 20 others were killed in their villages.
Isah told newsmen that in Kadisau, aside those killed, 21 others were critically injured during the attacks, and currently receiving treatment at General Hospital Funtua.
The police spokesperson in the state said: “The armed bandits were in the village to seize animals and food items but youths in the village mobilised themselves to resist the bandits who, unfortunately, were armed with deadly rifles.
“They started shooting sporadically at those residents who had already ganged up to face them; and in that confrontation they killed 16 residents while four others died at the hospital.”
Meanwhile, a survivor in Kadisau told Radio Nigeria monitored by our reporter in Katsina that the bandits rode on motorcycles in their dozens, each armed with an AK47 rifle as they raided the villages.
“They killed three at Unguwar Wahabi, nine at Kabalawa, five at Kwakware, and one at Raudama, they also raped women and stole animals” he said amidst tears.
A former Chairman of Faskari, Hassan Mohammed, also stated that some of the corpses of those killed in the attacks on Kadisau were recovered from an irrigation farm at the outskirts of the village.
He said their remains had been buried Wednesday morning while urging military operatives deployed in the ongoing anti-banditry operation to rise to their responsibility of protecting lives and property in the area.
Blueprint gathered that the attacks were carried out despite the ongoing ‘Operation Hadarin Daji’ launched by the Defence Headquarters last month.
The state Governor, Aminu Bello Masari , who recently ruled out further peace talk with the hoodlums, has persistently called for special prayers against banditry across the state.
Adamawa
In a related development, the police in Adamawa state Wednesday said 32 suspects were arrested over another communal clash in the state, during which many were reportedly killed or injured.
The latest violent clash erupted over a land dispute between Lunguda and Waja communities in Guyuk and Lafiya Lamurde local government areas of the state.
The affected villages are Boshikiri and Zakawon in Guyuk local government area, and Mamsirme and Tarakra in Lafiya Lamurde local government area.
About 50 persons were reportedly killed and 60 others injured during a clash over land in Tingno in neighbouring Lamurde local government area of the state.
Speaking on the latest wave of violence, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer Suleiman Nguroje said: “So far, 32 suspects from both sides of the warring communities were arrested and will be thoroughly investigated.
“We are yet to establish the figure of fatality traceable to the incident.”
He said many houses and valuables were destroyed, with many residents fleeing the affected communities.
Nguroje also said it took the combined efforts of the military, police, and the State Security Service (SSS) deployed in the area to put the situation under control.
The violence, it was gathered, started Tuesday night following a land dispute between the two ethnic groups.
“I cannot say the exact casualty figures because we have all fled for our lives, but lives were lost. It was a land dispute and it has been there for years unresolved. The villages affected include Boshikiri, Zakawon, Burti and Momsurmi,” a woman who identified herself as Madam Kauna told Premium Times correspondent.
‘’Human lives, animals and foodstuffs were also destroyed and many were injured, the Chairman of Guyuk local government has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Dumna district,” she said.
Other residents said Lafiya Lamurde town is completely deserted following the clash.
The state’s deputy governor, Mr. Crowther Seth, who visited the affected area in the company of the Brigade Commander of the 23 Brigades Yola, Brigadier-General Sani Mohammed, also said normalcy had returned to the affected areas.
He said the government would investigate the immediate and remote causes of the clash with a view to bringing perpetrators to book, and warned against further escalation of the violence.
Kogi
Similarly, some unknown gunmen Wednesday killed two people and kidnapped many along Lokoja-Abuja Highway.
Among those killed was Nicholas Ofordile, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of a popular supermarket located at post office area in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital.
Ofodile was killed during an exchange of gunfire between the hoodlums and men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) who made attempt to rescue him.
The incident, according to sources, occurred along Gegu/Koton Karfe in Kogi local government area of the state between 12 noon and 1.00pm.
It was also gathered that some of the hoodlums operating freely on the road were later intercepted by SARS, while others whisked many passengers away to an unknown destination
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer of Kogi State Command, DSP William Aya, said “I just got a call that the owner of Chucks Supermarket has been killed alongside one other person. The command is yet to get details of what happened.”
The incident is coming barely one week after Isanlu police station in Yagba West local government area of the state where eight police officers and two civilians were killed.
Sokoto
Meanwhile, Sokoto state Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has urged politicians in the state not to politicise issues of security as it affects lives and properties of the citizenry
The governor said this Wednesday in a statement signed and made available to newsmen in Sokoto by Senior Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Mohammed Bello.
The statement quoted Tambuwal as making the plea in Sokoto while hosting the state Advisory Security Council meeting held at Sultan Palace in Sokoto.
He said, nothing, including worship would be possible if there is insecurity
The statement said the meeting was a fallout of the state Security Council resolution held Monday in Government House Sokoto.
While calling for “sincere deliberations and consultations,” the governor said: “If the bandits attack any community, they don’t distinguish between PDP and APC members. They attack anybody they meet. For this reason, we should not politicise security, health and development issues.”
While soliciting for the advice of all stakeholders in the state, the governor also pleaded with participants to provide the forum with honest inputs and information on what the security situation is like in all the affected areas.
Also speaking, Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III consoled the victims of armed banditry in all the affected areas.
Sultan Sa’ad urged citizens to pray fervently and support security operatives working to control the ugly situation.
Abubakar described the advisory council as a high profile security meeting intended to collate opinions and views from an extensive consultation with stakeholders.
The Sultan expressed concern over the spate of insecurity in parts of the state, especially in Sokoto east.
The monarch recalled with nostalgia that during the colonial period, security was a top priority in the area to the extent that a woman could depart Sokoto to Kano without fear.
He said: “Since 1914 amalgamation of the country, the roles of the security operatives and traditional rulers have been clearly spelt out. We shall continue to play our statutory roles accordingly.
“Our position is to inform the security agents about happenings. They in turn will then work to contain the situation. All of us should buckle up and take measures that would ensure that this problem is tackled
”This isn’t about poverty. Relatively, we are better off than many countries. All we need to do is to do what is desirable and proper,” the Sultan stated.
He said: “It is unfortunate that those who should inform security agents about problems in their areas are scared for their lives. But now everyone should be brave and come out with information about the bandits and their activities.”
Giving kudos to the security operatives for their efforts, the Sultan pledged that similar meetings will be held regularly.
In his opening remarks, the state Commissioner for Security and Career Matters, Colonel Garba Moyi (rtd) said the issue of security was not the responsibility alone.