14042019 - 144 Killed in nine days

PAGE 10 — SUNDAY Vanguard, APRIL 14, 2019
UNDER SIEGE
144 die in nine days
•Kidnappers, terrorists, thugs, killer herdsmen unleash mayhem on Nigerians
By Charles Kumolu,
Deputy Features Editor
If you are living in the northern
part of Nigeria, chances are that
you may either be killed by
kidnappers, terrorists, killer
herdsmen or bandits.
Those in the South-East are faced
with the dangers of either dying in the
hands of kidnappers or killer
herdsmen.
In the South-West, thugs, armed
robbers and ritualists daily send people
to their early graves.
The reign of robbers, kidnappers,
cultists, and political thugs frequently
result in untimely
deaths in the South-
South.
These are not
alarming tales but the
true picture of the
current security
situation across
Nigeria’s 36 states.
Daily, people lose
their lives to
preventable deaths.
From the disorderly
scenes in Lagos to the
rustic communities in
Anka local
government area of
Zamfara State, the
stories are not
different.
No matter whom
you are and the level
of your carefulness,
the harbingers of
death could strike
anywhere.
Even places of
worship are not
revered by the
perpetrators as
witnessed in the killing of a Catholic
priest in Enugu recently, and a similar
incident in Benue State last year among
others.
Fearlessness of
perpetrators
Just the way the knights in T.S Elliot’s
Murder in the Cathedral, who broke
These are not
alarming tales
but the true
picture of the
current security
situation across
Nigeria’s 36
states
into the Cathedral and killed
Archbishop Becket were unfazed, these
angels of deaths abduct priests from
churches who they eventually kill
unchallenged.
Mosques are also easy targets for the
daredevils. Nowhere and nobody are
currently safe.
Surprisingly, the incidents happen in
manners that question the usefulness of
the Federal Government, whose
primary function is to provide security
and welfare of the citizens.
At the same time, the scale of the
violence could make anyone wonder if
security agencies had abdicated their
responsibilities.
In addition, the
fearlessness of the
perpetrators across
the country calls to
question the
capacity of the
security agencies at
containing this
spreading
insecurity.
Saying that the
situation is hopeless
is, to say the least.
Government and
its supporters may
argue to the
contrary but
Nigerians are fast
losing confidence in
its ability to protect
them as enshrined in
the 1999
Constitution (as
amended).
Last nine
days
For instance, no
one would consider
last week’s killings in Zamfara,
Kaduna, Anambra, Borno Ebonyi,
Lagos, Rivers, Katsina and Ondo, and
feel comfortable about the security
situation in Nigeria.
Perhaps, those who may dismiss this
observation still reside in Nigeria of the
past when human life was not worth one
for a penny.
At the last count by Sunday Vanguard,
144 people were killed by herdsmen,
cultists, kidnappers, Boko Haram,
communal fighters and armed robbers
in the last nine days.
The breakdown is as follows: Katsina,
33; Borno, five; Kaduna, 22; Anambra,
six; Benue, 25; Taraba,10; Rivers,21;
Ondo, seven; Ebonyi, eight, Abuja, one;
Delta, three; and three in Lagos.
Painfully, the response to this reign of
terror hardly extends beyond official
condemnations and condolences, after
which life goes on quickly.
It is common to hear assurances of
finding perpetrators and holding them
accountable but they are just mere
expressions from high places.
Such pronouncements mean nothing
to the killers, who return to strike
harder after each operation in what has
become a vicious cycle.
The incidents of the last nine days
suggest the problem is now acute in
Nigeria with prospects of continuing
unabated.
Katsina: Reign
of bandits
Between last Monday and Tuesday, no
fewer than 33 persons died in three
local government areas of Katsina
State, 11 out of whom were armed
bandits killed by villagers.
Information gathered by our
correspondent from Sabuwa and
Batsari local government areas of the
state revealed that 18 were killed in a
clash that ensued between members of a
vigilante group and armed bandits
while another four were killed by
bandits.
Lagos: Hoodlums
on the rampage
In Lagos where a medical doctor was
recently killed by hoodlums on the day
of his convocation, social miscreants,
otherwise known as ‘Area Boys’, clashed,
last Wednesday, at Fadeyi area, leaving
two persons dead.
The Director, Lagos State Fire
Service, Rasaki Musibau, and six others
were also abducted by gunmen within
the period under review. He was
kidnapped at Iwoye bridge end of the
Itoikin-Epe Road. It was learned that
the axis had become the new den for
kidnappers lately after abducting Ikosi-
Ejirin council chairman, Mr. Ajijedidun
Samson Adebisi, and Vice Chairman of
Lekki LCDA, last month.
Kaduna:
A killing field
In Kaduna, two policemen were killed
when their station was attacked by
bandits. The gunmen also attacked
Kakangi village in Birnin Gwari. It was
gathered that the bandits descended on
the village and began shooting into the
air before torching some houses. Scores
were said to have been killed, although
the exact figure could not be
ascertained.
Last Monday, at least 20 people were
killed in a fresh attack by suspected
herdsmen in Anguwan Aku village,
Kajuru local government area of
Kaduna.
Several others were said to have
sustained injuries in the attacks. The
incident, according to a resident of the
community, took place around 7am last
Monday.
Ebonyi:
Familiar crisis
Ebonyi State Police Command, last
Sunday, confirmed the killing of eight
persons, including a three months baby,
in a renewed boundary dispute between
two communities in the state.
While six of the victims, who were said
to be from the same family, were burnt
to death in a bus they were travelling in,
two others were killed from bullet
wounds they sustained from the attack.
The attack happened along the Alex
Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu
Alike Road near the border between the
two communities. Police spokesperson
in the state, Loveth Odah, who
confirmed the attack, said the incident
happened on April 6, 2019.
Rivers: Cultists,
thugs kill at will
Last Sunday in Rivers State, five
persons were allegedly killed in a
renewed cult clash in Rumuche and
Rumuohia communities, Emohua LGA,
and seven victims in Kaani Babbe
community, Babbe District of Khana
LGA of the state. Many others sustained
bullet wounds when some cultists
clashed in Mgbuodohia community,
Rumuolumeni clan, Obio/Akpor local
government area of the state. On
Wednesday, in Choba community, Obio/
Akpor local government area of the state,
over 16 boys engaged policemen in a gun
battle as one Shedrack was gunned down in
the area by unknown persons, in the early
hours of the day.
Just yesterday, seven persons were feared
killed as cultists stroke again in different
parts of the state.
It was reported that four persons were
killed and beheaded in Omuoko, Aluu
Community in Ikwerre Local Government
Continues on page 11