Encomium
The menace of the Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria, especially in the Middle Belt is not particularly new as hundreds of farmers and villagers have bore the brunt of this savage gang over the years.
The attacks have rocketed in recent years. Total casualties attributed to Fulani herdsmen hit 1,229 in 2014, a massive increase from just 63 in 2013, according to the Institute for Economics & Peace’s Global Terrorism Index 2015.
However, the rate at which their despicable acts have increased in 2016 is a major cause of worry as they seem to have grown in confidence. They have started making incursions into the South West and the South Eastern part of the country, leaving sorrow tears and blood in their wake.
encomium.ng in this piece lists some of the killing spree the herdsmen have embarked on the calendar year…
Bloody March as Herdsmen kill 300 in Agatu: More than 300 persons were killed in early March 2016 following a siege on Agatu local government area of Benue state. More than 300 heavily armed Fulani herdsmen attacked the villages in a week long rampage. Villages including Okokolo, Akwu, Ocholonya, Adagbo, Ugboku and Aila were reportedly razed as decomposing bodies of those killed were seen littering the communities.
20 killed in Tobmo, Benue: The deadly Fulani herdsmen also took their attack on the good people of Benue to other parts of the state weeks after the Agatu massacre. They invaded Tombo in Buruku local government area of the state, killing more than 18 persons. They also burned down houses, farms and food stuff as they moved into the villages in what was a well coordinated attack.”
Over 40 murdered in Taraba, as Fulani Herdsmen attack villages: April 11, 2016 is a date Nigerians from Angai and Ndole villages in Gashak Local Council area of Taraba State would never forget as Fulani herdsmen swooped and killed more than 44 people with several numbers of houses and domestic animals burnt to ashes. Following the incident, a large number of the local population fled to the neighbouring Cameroun Republic and nearby local council areas.
AK-47, Machetes wielding Herdsmen killed 40 in Enugu: About 40 persons were gruesomely murdered by Fulani herdsmen at Nimbo in Uzo- Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State on Monday, April 25, 2016. About seven villages in Nimbo (Nimbo Ngwoko, Ugwuijoro, Ekwuru, Ebor, Enugu Nimbo, Umuome and Ugwuachara) were among the areas attacked. Ten residential houses and a church, Christ Holy Church International, aka Odozi Obodo, were also said to have been burnt by the herdsmen just as vehicles and motorcycles were destroyed and domestic animals killed.
Robbery, Pillaging of Oyo villages: Between 30 and 40 Fulani herdsmen attacked farmers in Lagun, Iyana Offa, Offa, Atagba, Lapata and their surrounding communities in Lagelu Local Council Area of Ibadan, Oyo State at night on Tuesday, April 21, 2016. The criminals severely injured a guard and carted away valuables.
More than five farms and surrounding agrarian communities were allegedly visited in the attack, with villagers claiming afterwards that more than N500,000 was stolen by the attackers. They alleged that apart from money, clothes, shoes and foodstuffs that were taken, cooked food items were taken away by the attackers who had a field day roaming the places for more than seven hours.
2 killed, others wounded in Ekiti: Killer herdsmen invaded Oke Ako community in Ikole Local government area of Ekiti State, on Friday, May 20, 2016, killing two men and leaving several others wounded.
DanielFayemi for encomium.ng
