Ayodele Olalere
The lawmaker representing Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency in Benue State, Dr. Francis Ottah Agbo, has raised the alarm over the killing of 130 people in his constituency by Fulani herdsmen, and called for Federal Government’s urgent intervention.
Hon. Agbo, who is also the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Narcotic Drugs, appealed for assistance from the Federal Government in the form of relief materials to Internally Displaced People (IDPs) as well as foot the bill of medical expenses of the surviving victims who are presently in the hospital.
In a Motion brought before the House by the lawmaker, he explained that men believed to be Fulani herdsmen invaded communities in the state and killed 130 innocent people.
“In the wee hours of Sunday, 30th May, 2021, gun men believed to be Fulani Mercenaries invaded Izzi Communities in Ekile and Ijigban Wards in Ado LGA, Benue State and butchered about 130 innocent Izzi people.
The communities invaded are Ndobasi, Ataloga, Odoke, Ndigwe, Ekpufu, all in Ekile Ward, while many Izzi people were also murdered in Obakotor village, in Ijigban Ward!
The gunmen were believed to have carried out this heinous crime to avenge the killing of one of their own, a prominent Fulani herder known as Alhaji Isa Musa in Ataloga., who was reportedly killed by four IPOB/ ESN Members, while returning from the popular Ndobasi Market in Ekile Ward in February, this year,” he said.
He said, “IPOB openly claimed responsibility for the act and the Benue State Government promptly arrested the culprits and handed them over to the police and they have since been prosecuted and convicted.
He added the state government made efforts to assuage the family of Ahaji Musa but “our efforts turned out to be peace of the grave yard, as the family of Alhaji Musa allegedly mobilized mercenaries and launched savage attack on the peaceful and law abiding members of my Constituency, who knew nothing about the killing of Alhaji Musa.”
He further said apart from the killing, of 130 people, ‘there is also an ongoing crisis between the Ezza and Effiom people, principally in Ulayi District, of Ado LGA of Benue State, which has led to the spiral of killings, with thousands rendered homeless, as well as, the destruction of property and businesses running into billions of naira in the popular Inikiri market.”
According to him, several IDP camps have been created in the local government areas.
He, therefore, called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) “to urgently supply relief materials to the affected Izzi communities in Ado LGA, Benue State, and the “Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and Social Development to pay the medical bills of the surviving victims and grant them Covid-19 loans or grants to pick the pieces of their lives.”