Stopping Ethnic Cleansing of Fulani in Benue

I drove across the entire length of Benue State in the past four days. I didn’t see, as far as my eyes could reach, a single cow grazing.

The entire land from Otukpo to Yelewata border in Nasarawa State has been burnt to ensure that no grazing takes place. It is black ash everywhere.

All Fulani pastoralists have been cleansed from the Benue State by the State Government except for some remnants in some four local government areas in Idoma dominated areas.

The State Government has for the purpose of cleansing the Fulani established a militia called Livestock Guards who perpetrate mayhem on innocent pastoralists with the main goal of chasing them out of the state. It bought the Guards assault rifles and dozens of 4WD vehicles, contrary to its denial.

Pastoral Resolve, PARE, has comprehensively documented the atrocities of the Livestock Guard in the last two months in a document it is publishing later this February. It carries the description of events, location, deaths of pastoralists and number of cattle killed or rustled by the Guards.

The Nigerian military and mobile police units sent to keep the peace have taken sides. They are imposing a blockade to ensure that no pastoralist returns. They do not arrest the armed, criminal Livestock Guards.

Not satisfied with its achievement of evicting the pastoralists, the state government has mounted a cross border campaign using the Livestock Guards to attack pastoralist herds in neighboring Nasarawa state and rustle their cattle. This morning, around 7am, herds were attacked near Kadarko by the people suspected to be members of Livestock Guards and local farmer populations. The pastoralists were killed and their cattle rustled.

There is an ongoing cross border campaign to arrest pastoralist leaders in Nasarawa State and ferry them to Makurdi where they are detained without being charged in court.

Thousands of cattle across the border in Nasarawa State are facing imminent starvation. In ten days time, they will run short of residue. Deaths will start. I have witnessed a sea of these desperate livestock at the bank of the Benue at Dooga, near Anyichi.

Recommendations:

Quickly,

1. If none else, Fulani leaders in Nigeria must rise to defend the poor, peasant pastoralists who have been driven out of their homes in Benue State and are currently persecuted by the Nigerian police and Livestock Guards.

2. The attention of the Federal Government and indeed the world must be drawn to these war crimes and a demand for stoppage and restitution made.

3. The Federal Government must immediately disarm the Livestock Guards and arrest its leaders for the heinous offenses they are committing.

4. The Federal Government through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation must seek an perpetual injunction against the open-grazing law passed in Benue and Taraba States for its violation of fundamentals human rights of citizens.

5. The President must stop ignoring his responsibility of protecting the affected pastoralists whom he owes a constitutional responsibility to defend. He has never given them audience, not even on the day he summoned both parties for a reconciliation meeting, where he chose to meet with only Tiv leaders. No leader can be just by listening to one side only. Wherever I met them, the pastoralists are understandably and reasonably very bitter with the President on this.

6. Anything short of these measures will require the Federal Government to be charged before the ECOWAS court and ICC as an accomplice in the crime of ethnic cleansing against the affected pastoralists.

7. The governor of Benue State must be held responsible for ethnic cleansing and all crimes perpetrated by the Livestock Guards.

8. Lastly, the federal government should hasten to provide feed supplements and roughages to the starving cattle in Nasarawa State and aid to the displaced pastoralists. The gory pictures of dying cattle will tarnish the image of the country and the government before the world.

9. Should in case these pleas fall on deaf ears of the executive, the National Assembly should urgently investigate the matter and get the federal Government live up to its responsibilities.

Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde

28 January 2018