Leave our people out of herdsmen killing in Ebonyi – Benue Govt tells Umahi

 

April 30, 2021 | The Biafra Times

The Benue State Government has asked its Ebonyi State counterpart to hold the Fulani herdsmen responsible for attacks in the state particularly the recent killings in Umwuagodo-Akpu community of Ohaukwu Local Government Area.

DAILY POST reports that Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State had accused the Agila Community in Ado Local Government Area of Benue State of launching attacks on Ebonyi community which led to the killing of unspecified number of residents recently.

Reacting, the Deputy Government of Benue State and Chairman Benue Boundary Committee, Engr Benson Abounu in a statement on Friday urged Umahi to leave Benue out of attacks in the Ebonyi Communities.

Engr Abounu, who expressed disappointment over Governor Umahi’s allegation, urged him to conduct a proper investigation on the incident and retract his claim.

According to him, residents of the attacked community had identified the assailants as Fulani herdsmen yet Umahi insisted that the people of Agila were involved in the attack.

The statement reads: “While we sympathize with the victims and families of those affected in the gruesome attack, it is important to state that there is no evidence linking the Agila people of Benue State with the offence.

“We are surprised at the attempt by the Ebonyi State Governor to change the narrative and find scapegoats for an action everyone, including the survivors themselves said was carried out by Fulani herdsmen.

“When the attack first occurred, even without any form of verification, and against the avalanche of evidence that it was carried out by Fulani herdsmen, Governor Umahi had hurriedly accused Agila people of responsibility.

“Today, two weeks after, in order to validate his earlier assertion, Governor Umahi is laying blame on the Agila people even as he has accepted that the attack was actually carried out by Fulani herdsmen. He now says that the herdsmen were hired by Benue people. Even a gullible public will find this difficult to swallow.

“It will be recalled that victims of the aitack had categorically identified herdsmen as the attackers. In spite of this, the Governor still went ahead to accuse the Agila people who convincingly absolved themselves of the atrocity.

“Given the foregoing, we are now compelled to ask of Governor Umahi the following questions:

“How did he come about the statement that the Agila people hired the Fulani herdsmen killers?

“Where is the evidence supporting the claim that Agila hired the herdsmen attackers?

“Did any Fulani herdsman tell Governor Umahi that the Agila people hired his kinsmen?

“Has Governor Umahi bothered to interact with the Agila side to ascertain the truth or otherwise of the claim?

“Let me state here that when news of the attack broke and the Governor cast aspersion on the Benue side, I, as Benue Deputy Governor and Boundary Committee Chairman, engaged my Ebonyi counterpart and we both investigated the unfortunate incident. Our findings did not support the claim that Agila people either directly attacked or masterminded the attack on Umuogodo-Akpu of Ebonyi State.

“I believe that it is now pertinent to request the Governor of Ebonyi State to make available all evidence, if any, of Agila’s involvement in the said attack. Otherwise we in Benue will have no choice but to conclude that the Governor’s unfounded claim amounts to inciting his people against Agila people and by extension Benue State. Moreso as the Governor in his press briefing after the State Security meeting, presented a cheque of N40m to Umuogodo-Akpu people to settle the victims AND to enable them form a “Vigilante”!!

“This, in our view, is dangerous coming from the Governor of a State. We will therefore demand that Governor Umahi takes a second look at the whole saga in order to properly address the unfortunate event”.

• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)

#END_SARS: Dave Umahi's Evil plan exposed

 

 October 25, 2020 |The Biafra Times

The governor of Ebonyi State; Gov. Dave Umahi, has recruited thugs from all the communities in  Ebonyi state to attack, kill and stop #END_SARS protesters in Ebonyi state.

He has been sharing money to them since two days ago and fortifying them with local charms against protester, because the daughter of late president Buhari was in his home Uburu, the very day #END_SARS protesters matched to his community.

From a reliable source it was confirmed that Dave Umahi’s  son is preparing to get married to the daughter of late president Buhari.

 Gov. Dave Umahi directed some politicians including the Ezzi LGA chairman Paul Nwauhah  to recruit thugs for him, and one of the thugs  by name is Chidiebere  Nwovu  (Aka. Yara ) a hungry and stack illiterate who can barely write his name.

Our intelligence unit have confirmed that the thugs are paid 3000 Naira daily and a contract fee of 70,000 Naira  to make sure they #END_SARS protesters are stopped . He has also armed them with AK47 rifles.

We are putting the world on notice about this barbaric action Gov. Dave Umahi is about to unleash on peaceful #END_SARS protesters in Ebonyi state. If any Protester is killed in Ebony state, Gov. Dave Umahi should be held responsible.

Attached here is the picture of one of the hungry thugs recruited by Dave Umahi. 

The Biafra Times

Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah

Contact us: [email protected]

Follow us on twitter: @thebiafratimes

Men in military uniform invaded our village, beheaded my mother, nine others –Ebonyi man

March 26, 2020 | The Biafra Times


An employee of the Ebonyi State Ministry of Information, Eugene Ibenyi, in this interview with EDWARD NNACHI, shares his experience about the beheading of his mother, Mrs Elizabeth Ibenyi, when some gunmen invaded Umuogodoakpu-Ngbo community in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state

You lost your mother when gunmen in military uniform attacked your village. How did it happen?

Around 11.15am on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, I received what sounded like an emergency call from the village that many had lost their lives.  So, I went home and I saw a lot of destruction. Men and women were killed and beheaded; houses and other valuables were burnt to ashes and people were wailing.  I didn’t know my mother was involved. Nobody told me anything but I was taken to a place where my mother beheaded body was. I was devastated.

How many were killed excluding your mother?

Nine other persons were also killed.  I counted the corpses and there were nine of them. Now, as we speak, the death toll has risen to 10, as Mr Titus Ugadu, who sustained machete cuts during the attack, is dead.

Was it as a result of a fight between the people of Umuogodoakpu-Ngbo community, Ebonyi State and the people of Agila community, Benue State or was it a one-sided attack?   

I want to tell you without hesitation that it was an unprovoked attack by the Agila people, who are avowed enemies of Ngbo people. This is because as of the time they attacked my community, there was nothing that could be said was the offence of my people, nothing. Nobody could point at a particular thing. It was a one-sided attack from them, which was why they killed so many persons in our community. My people were caught unawares. They were relaxed in their homes, not in their farmlands. They swooped on them, killed as many as nine, burnt down houses and other valuable property and barns. They burnt down my own house, too. At that point, everybody could have been running for their lives and nobody could give account of how they killed my mother. She was killed about 150 metres away from the boundary, where they caught, killed and beheaded her.

How old was your mother?

My mother should be around 73 or 74 years of age.

When and what time of the day or night did the attackers invade your community?

Like I said, they were not only armed, they were also adorned in military uniforms. Those who saw them described them as 10 young military men. But I’m sure it is the Agila people that unleashed this mayhem on our people. This is because the hallmark of their earlier attacks is to kill and behead their victims.

How many people did your family lose in the incident?

I lost my mother and unfortunately, before now, I lost my younger brother, in similar incident. That was four years ago. People have been saying why not leave the place and relocate your loved ones to another place. But the answer is to where? The truth of the matter is that our people are suffering because of the general belief that peace is returning.

Can you describe the personality of those who were killed?

My mother was the engine room of my family. My mother was a peacemaker. This was somebody, who though lost her son to attack previously, would say if she saw an Agila person running into trouble here, she would defend such an individual. She was a peacemaker, she was always organising and making sure everything worked well for the family.

For the others, one of the men they killed was a widower, who lost his wife some years back. He had a blind sister he was taking care of and this blind sister was like a second wife to him. These people dragged the blind sister out and killed her and later killed the man himself. In another compound, they killed a man, killed his two wives and killed someone who had come to visit him.

It’s widely reported that your people have had protracted inter-communal clashes with Ngbo people over land dispute. What do you think makes this attack on your community different from others in the past?

First of all, before I get to what makes this very attack different from previous ones, it is a very wrong notion to say that Ngbo people have been having land dispute with the Agila people. It is the Agila people who have been coming always to fight us. When they say their people (that’s Agila people) have been attacked, have they shown evidence as we (Ngbo people) are showing now? When you say people attack you and you are not showing any evidence, it means you are not truthful. We can show evidence of decapitated bodies, destruction of property and other valuables. This is not just the first or the second time. So, there has never been a time the Ngbo people were on the offensive against them and that’s the truth and that’s why they attack us every now and then and each time, they do, they would, in turn go to the social media and alleged that our people attacked them.  Like the one that happened at Ukwuagba community in Ebonyi, from the same Agila people, we showed pictures and stories. They are just calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it.

What we used to know was that before   mobile policemen or military men would come to secure the people living within the boundary area, the traditional rulers would know; the councillor would know; the youth leader would know, and even the coordinator of the area would be aware.  Information would trickle down from the state government to the grassroots and people would be made to know what’s happening and the security agents would be welcomed   because they have come to protect lives.

Now few days to this very attack, men suspected to be military men came in their trucks and went back. They did this thrice and each time they came, we would hear the Agila people would come. It was not clear who these men in military uniforms were and channels of communication were broken and this caused panic in the area. Not really knowing whether these men were real soldiers or Agila people in military uniforms, so the people of Ngbo were panicking  and at a point they relaxed, these men came and started killing and beheading the people.

There have been this insinuations that both state governments were politicising the crisis, instead of coming up with measures to address it once and for all. What do you think?

My brother, it is only God that knows what is hidden. We have heard of the efforts of both states governments being announced on the radio and on the pages of newspapers. I do know that there have been attempts, through reconciliation committees and negotiations either by the Ebonyi State Government or jointly by both state governments. When a tragedy of this magnitude had not erupted, we took that to be satisfactory and I think it was working. But you know issue on matter of live and death like this is always a serious matter. To answer your question, I am not in a better position to say they are politicising it; if they are doing that, only God knows.

 There is this widely held view that the military allegedly aided the Agila warlords in this latest attack on Umuogodoakpu-Ngbo community. What do you think?

I cannot tell you specifically that those who attacked my village were aided by the military or not. But in communication, there is what is called body language. Even if they didn’t aid them, I’m not satisfied with the way the whole thing was managed by the military. Like I said, if you visit a place maybe to protect the people there, you look for the traditional ruler, the councillor, the youth leader, or representatives of the people there and state why you are in their place; not just moving on the road to and fro, fully armed and people would be afraid even to ask you questions.

And as an offshoot of that, people begin to live in fear. Then suddenly, the same set of people or another set of people in same military uniform, would emerge from nowhere and start killing people. It’s mixed up. This is very difficult to differentiate and segregate. So, I cannot be in a position to tell you that they are aiding or abetting it.

If you were mandated to proffer solution to the crisis between these two communities, what do you think can be done to address it?

The best and fastest thing that could be done and peace would finally return is for the government to muster that political will to demarcate the boundary there. We have heard stories of the National Boundary Commission, but we have not seen the practicality.

The best thing is to demarcate the place and put a military zone in-between to repel a possible attack from each side. If you have a buffer and it is not occupied by anybody, they will still attack themselves. There should be a fortified military base there. On the government side, they should make the people to earn their trust and confidence again. With this, peace can return.

Has peace returned to your community after the attack?

There is no peace. You can imagine a place where nine persons were killed. You can imagine the state of mind of the people there. I don’t think there is perfect peace there. What I can tell you that is existing there is fear, fear and fear and that is why people are calling on the government to help address the issue.


Source: punchng

IPOB spit fire over Dave Umahi and his newly created Bakassi boys in Ebonyi State

November 27, 2019 || The Biafra Times

We the global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) wish to warn Ebonyi State Government and all those unfortunate and foolish enough to be recruited into their Janjaweed Bakassi boys to fight IPOB, that henceforth they will be treated as agents of RUGA and enemy of the people of Biafra. We view them as one and the same with those enemies of Biafra hell-bent on bringing Fulani RUGA settlements to our land.

The report by TBRV is correct therefore the media frenzy by Ebonyi State Government to deflect attention away from their formation of this local treacherous Bakassi outfit is nothing but a face saving exercise.

IPOB Intelligence units on the ground continue to report the treacherous activities of this very outfit formed to provide grassroot logistical support and local intel to hoardes of invading Fulani terror herdsmen in Ebonyi State raping our mothers and destroying our villages. Those that doubt our opposition to RUGA should ask Willie Obiano of Anambra State what became of his Miyetti Allah friends he gave land in Anam to. We IPOB chased them away from Anam and all over Anambra State and our ongoing opetations in Ebonyi is designed to do exactly the same.

Inviting Nigerian Army, Bakassi Boys and a miriad of local Fulani informants on the ground in parts of Ebonyi will not deter instead it will embolden IPOB resistance to this blatant Fulanisation of the land of Biafra. When we said no inch of Biafraland will be conceded to the terrorist Miyetti Allah group (Fulani herdsmen) we meant every word of it. Any person foolish enough to join Ebonyi State Government's effort to bring RUGA to the sacred land of Biafra through this illegal Bakassi Boys will pay dearly for it.

We are not asking Eastern governors to stop their age long servitude to the caliphate and betrayal of their people, which is the only they can remain politically relevant, but what we are saying to them is there won't be any RUGA in Biafraland. They should ask those Alimajiri terrorists they sent on previous occassions to invade Ebonyi what became of them.

We want to let the world know this secret formation of Bakasi Boys in Ebonyi State was solely designed to confront and attack any individual suspected to be supporter or family member of IPOB because of our refusal to allow Fulani Ruga settlement in Biafraland particularly in Ebonyi State. Gov. Dave Umahi and his Fulani masters in Aso Rock have perfected their arrangement to eliminate more of our people because of our total rejection of the establishment of this land grabbing Fulani Life Stock Initiatives Program in the state.

Numerous and meaningless press statements including the denial of being involved in the formation of this secret group against IPOB has no meaning because it is in the public domain and the facts are verifiable. The protection of our Biafran citizens in Ebonyi State and Biafraland in general in the face of this relentless Fulani onslaught is our  priority, therefore IPOB cannot be wished away by the caliphate supporting Ebonyi State government. Nothing will save Dave Umahi and his co-conspirators, the South East governors and Ohaneze Ndigbo leadership led by Nnia Nwodo at the apoointed time if they continue to form and encourage these criminal gangs to exist and attack anybody or secretly sabotage IPOB efforts to liberate Biafrans from this mess called Nigeria.

It is imperative we openly let the general public be aware that Dave Umahi commissioned this group called (Bakassi Boys) in Ebonyi state to kill and attack anybody who openly deemed it necessary to support IPOB family members in the strong efforts to stop Dave Umahi and Fulani community from establishing Ruga settlement in the state.

The series of arrangements and decisions by Dave Umahi and co, especially the South East governors and Ohaneze Ndigbo, cannot stop or change our resolve towards Ruga settlement on any Biafran territory. We are on the lookout for this group with their usual military escort and when we do, we shall treat them as the Fulani terror herdsmen supporting scoundrels they are. There will be no pity or mercy.  Ebonyi State is a solid IPOB territory and anybody seeking to convince himself otherwise must be under the influence of hard drugs.

It is on record that IPOB is not fighting for anything else other than the preservation of the territorial integrity of Biafraland and we shall continue to do until Biafra is fully restored and beyond.

We are waiting to hear from this newly created Bakassi nonsense in Ebonyi State to make any move against IPOB, only then will they know that IPOB is the people and the people is IPOB. Anybody foolish enough to sign up to Fulani sponsored security outfit in Biafraland like Bakassi Boys have effectively signed their death warrant. No amount of charms, reasaurance from a native doctor or amulets will save any of them. We are waiting for them.

COMRADE EMMA POWERFUL MEDIA AND PUBLICITY SECRETARY FOR IPOB.