The deaths of worshippers observing early morning prayers in a Mosque at Epogi village, Mokwa council of Niger State could have been averted if the state government had acted on intelligence report about brewing tension in the area as at Friday last week.
Chief Imam of Epogi Mosque and 26 others were in the early hours Saturday murdered by suspected Fulani herdsmen over alleged breach of contractual agreement between the locals and Fulani herdsmen bothering on farming land.
While efforts are being made to guarantee lasting peace in the troubled area with series of stakeholders’ meeting, it appears that the locals are not happy with the government.
The indictment came to the fore during stakeholders’ meeting at the Police Officers’ mess in Minna.
The Vice President of the, Mayetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Alhaji Hussaini Bosso, blamed the state government for not acting on time to avert the killings.
The meeting at the instance of the police was presided over by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Shuaibu L Gambo.
Hussaini Bosso claimed that his Fulani kinsmen had alerted of attacks on them by the locals in Mokwa.
According to the MACBAN vice president, “When about 100 cows belonging to the Fulani herders in the community were killed and one Fulani man also lost his life, I personally reported the case to the Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, Gen. Imam Ndagulu (rtd).
“The government should do something about this situation urgently because there will be trouble. I also reported to the Etsu Nupe who is the chairman of Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers in the emirate.”
Bosso further said that his people only retaliated on the earlier attacks on them.
His words: “The Etsu Nupe tried to broker peace but that yielded little or no results. The Etsu Nupe called for a meeting of the villagers and the herders but the villagers refused to attend the meeting”.
The Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, General Imam Ndagulu, has however denied the allegations, accusing the Fulani leader of trying to distort facts by using allegations of the killing of 100 cows with the recent attack on worshipers.
“There is no link between the killing of 100 cows you are talking about and the recent incident which has so far claimed 27 lives. The government is not aware of the claim not even the police in the state was aware, the event has no bearing. “Can they show anyone where 100 cows were killed that will result in this type of killing?” he asked.
Ndagulu said that the government was only aware of an incident that happened about three months ago when crisis broke out between the villagers and the Fulanis during which a villager was killed and a Fulani man’s hand chopped off. “The police are aware of the incident and they have been investigating it”.
Meanwhile, the MACBAN Vice President, Hussaini Bosso, has said that the only likely solution to the frequent clashes between Fulanis and villagers was for the state government to step up action, apprehend and prosecute the culprits according to the law.
“There is also the urgent need for the government to educate farmers to stop blocking “Cattle routes”, Bosso said, adding, “The government should also create grazing reserves” and in addition, grazing during the dry season should be declared illegal.”
In the meantime, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Shuaibu L Gambo, has at the stakeholders’ meeting posited: “Dialogue remains the only solution to the frequent clashes between farmers and Fulani herdsmen”.
Gambo said that the issue of conflicts between the Fulanis and farmers in parts of Nigeria “Is receiving attention at the highest level”, adding that very soon permanent solution would be found to end incessant bloodshed between farmers and herdsmen.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police also promised that a detachment of Marine police would be sent to the troubled areas in Mokwa and Katcha in the state where conflicts between the two groups had been very pronounced.
The DIG later paid courtesy call on the Acting Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed Ketso, and also briefed him on the urgent need to set up Marine Police and provide speed boats to combat crime and other forms of insecurity along the riverine communities in Niger State.