Can we meet you please?
My name is Comrade Audu George Ochefije. I’m from Agatu Local Government. I’m currently the President of Agatu Youth Forum.
What is your take on the constant attack on your people, especially the recent one in Egba?
It’s horrible. It’s unbelievably horrible that people could invade a community to carry out such dastardly act. I was not in the village when the attackers came, but we went there and we were told the attacker’s came very early on the day of the attack. They used their normal route, through River Benue. They normally come in from Nassarawa into Ega. The Ega people had problem with Owukpa people so when they came, we thought it was the aggrieved Owukpa that came for revenge, but behold, it was the Fulani herdsmen that came. The problem now is that it’s as if the government is sleeping over the issue. It is even clear that some of the militias are not Nigerians. The few of them who were killed after the attack are clearly not Nigerians, so one cannot even say the attackers are Nigerians. The question is where did they come from, and why can’t they be arrested by security men?
What is the security situation at the moment? Have policemen or the military being mobilized to the affected areas?
The security situation is zero. As I speak to you, there are no security men on ground in a community that nearly hundreds were killed. If the police and the military were on ground, they would have given security reports on the issue, they are nowhere in Agatu. We are left to decide our own fate. The truth is that security men came one time and left and I do not know the reason they had to leave. If they abandon us, and this thing continues, it then means that the government is not concerned. I want to make this clear that this is not a crisis between Agatu and the Fulanis, it is a crisis between unknown gunmen and the Agatu people. If you say it is a crisis between the Agatu people and the Fulanis, then two ethnic groups are in conflict. To talk about it, the Fulani people are not even residing there, they are a faceless people. The reason for this action is not far from what we are hearing from the northeast of Borno. It may even be Boko Haram that are attacking and hacking people, because the attacks are usually of the same level with what we hear from Borno state. It looks to me like these are the same people trying to take root in Benue State and the government is not doing anything about it.
Security men only come under the instruction that two communities are in crises and need to be stopped from fighting. It is really not a crisis between the Fulanis and the Agatu people; it is a problem of another community trying to settle down in Agatu and if the government does not take this issue seriously, it is going to become a major problem like it’s right now in the far north. These people may have left Sambisa for Agatu-who knows?
So what would you say about prominent Idoma sons and daughters who are supposed to represent Idoma’S interest in the state and at the federal level?
If the Idomas in government are seeing what is happening and are not doing anything about it, then they are weak and do not know what they are doing. They are not leading their people well, hence there is no representation. In fact, it means they are not there to represent us. I do not want to believe that the Idoma people are represented. We have a House of reps member representing the Apa/Agatu constituency in the National Assembly. Since this issue started, he has not stepped his leg on the soil. He would only come when the whole thing has subsided, promising that it will never happen again and it keeps happening.
The United Kingdom (UK) has announced that only international students enrolling in Doctor of Philosophy…
The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, issued a warning to President…
Nwachukwu Placidus, a former manager at First City Monument Bank in Onitsha, has been sentenced…
Real Madrid clinched this season's La Liga title after Girona secured a 4-2 victory over…
CBN official Naira to Foreign Exchange rates today, May 5, 2024 Date Currency Buying(NGN) Central(NGN)…
CBN Rates - Dollar to Naira, Pound to Naira, Euro to Naira, and Others Date…