03072019 - Buhari's Ruga policy, an explosive issue — SOYINKA

28 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2019
VOL. 2 NO. 51 WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2019
Govt, villagers differ on herdsmen
chased away from Enugu community
By Dennis Agbo
ENUGU- EVER since the video
went viral, tongues have been
wagging on whether the Fulani
herdsmen were actually chased
away from Agbada-Nnenwe
community or not.
The video which has trended
since Saturday June 29 showed how
Fulani herdsmen with large number
of cows were guarded out of
Nnenwe community in Aninri local
government area of Enugu state.
Not long after the video circulated
than the Nigeria police in Enugu
denied that the video was real.
According to the police spokesman
in Enugu, Ebere Amaraizu, such
situation never existed in the state,
narrating that the herdsmen only
came from Cross River state.
The police statement brought
more curiosity to the development,
a situation that made some native
of Agbada-Nnenwe to declare the
police statement as false, noting that
By Chinonso Alozie,
Owerr i
Following recent events
Southeast voice conducted an
investigation in Owerri, based on
the incidences and discovered that
those in the dastard act have seen
Imo state as a fertile ground for
such business.
It has been observed that child
trafficking syndicate arrested and
paraded by the Imo police, in most
cases while the buyers are said not
be residents of Imo state but the
sellers have been identified as
natives of Imo state.
By report, the worse of it is that
even those from other states who
have children to sell move them
into Imo state looking for
prospective buyers.
Another urgly part of the story,
is that young ladies about to
deliver their unborn babies,
willing to sell them also are being
relocated to the state, by the child
syndicate group, as a safe heaven
untill the time comes for her to
deliver.
This is as they also use maids
and nannies in diffrent homes to
monitor and identify young ladies
interested in doing the child
trafficking business. Apart from
that, they also woo some of them
into accepting to sell their babies
with an irresistible offer that
would change their lives out of
poverty.
Southeast Voice also gathered
that sells girls at different eatries,
restaurants, beer palours,
vulnerable ones have become
daily victims of this child
trafficking syndicate with a
promise to make their lives more
better.
One of such cases, is that of a
native of Cameroon, Queen Imoh,
suspected to have stolen a 6-yearold
boy From Nassarawa area of
Kadunna state, she travelled such
a distance to Imo state, to sell a six
year old boy. This child was later
recovered.
Also, one Immaculata Edward, a
native of Cross River state, said to
have abducted five children from
Ngor Okpala local government
area, and alongside with other
•Cabinet members of Nenwe.
the herdsmen actually came from
the direction of Enugu before they
were turned back and disallowed
from marauding their cultivated
farms.
According to 70 years old native
of the community, Mazi Albert
Ugwueke, “What took place in our
community on Saturday was that as
we were waking up in the morning,
we saw a sea of cows passing
through our place, the cattle were
suspects took their victims to
Abia state, to sell them
however, they children
were rescued.
In another shocking
incident, a six hour old baby
was sold for N800,000 just
after delivery at a hospital
in Nekede, Owerri West local
government area, The
name of the mother of the
baby a 23—year-old woman,
was given as Chinenye
Oparaocha, alongside other
suspects sold the child to a
buyer in Portharcourt,
Rivers state.
Still on the child
trafficking, a 24-year-old
lady her name was given as
Easther Anyanwu, said to be
from Ikeduru local
government area, claimed
she was forced out of her
home by her families, for
refusing to sell her 4 months old
baby.
Some of the incidents of child
stealing/trafficking as captured by
Southeast Voice, started from the
Cameroonian lady.
The Police narrated that “On
the 13/06/2019, Operatives of the
special anti robbery squad SARS,
acting on intelligence arrested one
Queen Imoh, ‘F’ a native of
Cameroon but resides in Kaduna,
was arrested with a stolen child,
one Naziru Abdulwahab, ‘m’
6yrs old, at Umuna, orlu
“The said Queen stole the boy
from Nasarawa area of Kaduna
state, and came brought him down
to Imo state to sale him to her
partner, but unfortunately for
her,the said buyer rejected the boy
on the basis that the boy has tribal
marks on both side of his head.
“She was consequently arrested
based on a tip-off by the locals of
the area who suspected that she
was not in anyway related to the
boy.”
The police said: “She however
confessed to the crime and said it
members
too many. We met the herdsmen and
asked them where they were going
but they ignored us. We had to stop
them and asked them to go back
that we have cultivated all our
lands, that there is none left for them
to graze on.
“We told them that our place
cannot accommodate them in their
numbers and so they turned and we
followed them, all members of the
community followed them, both old
was her third time, that the first one
she sold was her own son by name
Joseph Imoh ‘M’ 2YRS ,for the
sum of two hundred thousand
naira (N200000).
“The second was one Samuel ‘M’
1 YR Plus, whom she stole when
the mum asked her to help her take
care of her son while she rush to
buy something, she said she sold
him for the sum of two hundred
and thirty thousand naira
(N230000).
“However, the command in
partnership with the Hausa
community in Orlu has been able
to trace the parents of the said
Naziru Abdulwahab, and the boy
was handed over to his father
Abdulwahab Ya’u.”
On the selling of five children
from Imo state to Cross River state
the police said: “On 24/4/2019,
one Immaculata Edward, a native
of Okonde in Cross River State
who is a girlfriend to one Ifara
Isong resident at Eziama Logara
in Ngor Okpala L.G.A visited the
said boyfriend, because she was
familiar and well known in the
•A cross section of Agbada-Nenwe community
and the young followed them to the
express (Enugu-Port Harcourt
road). They wanted to follow Awgu
but we refused and they diverted
towards Enugu. That was the end
of what transpired between us and
them and before God.”
A woman of about 45 years, Mrs.
Nkechukwu Maduekwe, who was
so bitter about the menace of the
herdsmen in her community, was
furious on the twist of what
How Imo is gradually becoming
headquarters of child traffickers
•One of the suspects Queen Imoh, a Cameroonian
arrested by the Imo state Police Command.
area, the children and
the neighbors of her boy
friend were all fond of
her, they left the children
in her custody while they
went about their
business.
“The
said
Immaculata targeted
when her boyfriend went
out to buy something
and then she stole five
(5) children namely
Somto Ekeh ‘f’ 6yrs,
Kelechi Ekeh ‘m’ 5yrs,
Chisom Ekeh ‘f’ 3yrs,
Ebuka Enwerem ‘m’
3yrs, Chioma Enwerem
‘f’ 5yrs And Lucky Idah
‘m’ 6yrs, all children of
one Reginald Ekeh ‘m’
and took them to a
notorious child
trafficker.
“One Perpetual Iwuji
from Obokwu Ulakwo in Owerri
North L.G.A, who then sold two (2)
of the children to one Grace
Nwachukwu, another notorious
child trafficker who hails from
Isiala Mbutu in Aboh Mbaise
L.G.A but resident at Mpape
Abuja.
“Immaculata also stole two (2) of
her uncle’s children from Cross
River state and sold them to one
Ifeoma Ndubuisi ‘f’ from Lokpanta
in Umunneochi L.G.A Abia State.
“However, following
intelligence, systematic, thorough
and painstaking investigation, all
the children stolen from Logara
was recovered. Moreover, in the
course of the investigation,
additional five (5) children were
recovered from Perpetual Iwuji
and kept in an orphanage home.
“The five (5) children stolen from
Logara have been reunited with
their families. Meanwhile, one of
the two children stolen from Cross
River state has been recovered
from Ifeoma Ndubuisi and efforts
are on top gear to recover the
happened before her own eyes and
which she also said she was a
participant.
“After cultivation in our farms, the
herdsmen and their cattle will
destroy them. If you go to our farms
now, you won’t find any crop
standing. The Fulani herdsmen
destroyed our farms both last year
and this year to the tune of millions
of Naira. If other people like it that
way, I particularly do appreciate it
that way because I have many
children that I take care of and I have
no other source of living except
through farming. After cultivation,
I sell the produce and use the
proceeds to train my children.
“It was at about 6am on that
Saturday morning, when he had
hardly woke up from sleep that we
saw Fulani herdsmen passing
though our road with their cattle.
They were over 200 cows and there
was out cry in the community and
we all woke up from our beds and
pursued them to them express road.
That was what happened on June
29. Those who said we did not chase
them out are telling lies. It
happened. I was part of it, I was
tying my wrapper that I slept with
and followed to pursue them to the
express.”
In the same manner, 44 years old
Kenneth Aneke said “I cultivated
with the hope of making money from
the farm, all at a sudden, these
people came and destroyed this
farm that before God and ManI
could not raise up to N50,000 from
the farm. I cultivated Cassava, Rice,
Potatoes, maize, you can ask
anybody from this village, but all
these things could not yield up to
N50, 000 for me. We have not asked
anybody to give us money.”
However, due to the attention the
report generated, Governor Ifeanyi
Ugwuanyi, the security agencies
and other government officials went
to the community on Monday
where the delegation met with the
traditional rulers and the
community members.
Governor Ugwuanyi at the
community said that an online
trending video was not true.
In the same vein, Chairman of
Aninri local government council,
Chief Ezikel Chukwu also said that
ever since the video broke out he
has searched and could not witness
such incident in the council area.
Ugwuanyi said “We are in
Agbada-Nnenwe with the state
commissioner of Police, the Director
of Department of State Services, the
Garrison commander 82 Division of
the Nigeria Army and other relevant
stakeholders on a fact-finding
mission in connection with a video
trending on the social media over
the purported excursion of some
herders and their cattle out of the
community. We are also in Agbada-
Nnenwe to ascertain other issues
that require attention.
“We heard the traditional ruler
and others denying the occurrence
of such incidence in the community,
thereby confirming the earlier
statement by the police on the
matter. Consequently, we found out
that the said video is not true and
we therefore appeal to those
peddling the false rumour about
Enugu state to know that Enugu is
a peaceful state.”
Traditional ruler of Agbada-
Nnenwe community, HRH Igwe
Francis Imoh, said that what took
place in his domain was a
spontaneous incident which will
never sever the long standing
relationship between his
community and the Fulani
community in Agbada-Nnenwe.
Igwe Imoh said “I was at home
on that June 29, when that
spontaneous incident happened. I
want to assure you that nobody is
driving the Fulani community out
of Agbada-Nnenwe. In the history
of our relationship with the Fulani
herdsmen, no cow has ever been
killed in this kingdom; No Fulani
man has ever been hurt in this
kingdom and we have continued to
maintain peace as directed by his
Excellency Governor Ifeanyi
Ugwuanyi who directed all the
traditional rulers to maintain the
secularity of the nation, to make sure
that we leave peacefully with one
another.