M-A-S-S-A-C-R-E-! Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram kill 39 *13 villages sacked in Benue *20 feared dead on Akure-Ilesa Expressway
Written by Johnson Babajide, Sam Nwaoko and James Bwala
Tuesday, March 6, 2012


AT least 30 persons have been reported killed and 13 villages sacked at Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State by people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen in a renewed attack on the council area.







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This is just as about 20 people were feared dead in an accident at Iwaraja junction on the Ilesa-Akure Expressway in Osun State on Monday.


Nigerian Tribune gathered that the suspected Fulani herdsmen invaded the affected villages with sophisticated arms, on Sunday, killing and maiming.


It was gathered that at the time of filing this report, normalcy was yet to return to the area, while villagers were said to have deserted their homes.


Speaking on the development, Joseph Mom, president of Tyoch'a Association in the council area, said that the invasion was the second within a year, adding that no fewer than 30 people were feared killed in the renewed attack.


He added that many families could not be found as a result of the attack, stressing that about 13 villages around River Benue were attacked by the Fulani herdsmen.


Tyoch'a, who could not give reason for the attack, however, said that it was carried out by the Fulani herdsmen, who always destroyed their farmland while grazing their cattle.


According to him, "we were told by our people living at the disturbed areas that the cattle rearers stormed their villages on Sunday and killed many of them. As I am talking to you now, we cannot give the actual figure of casualties, but according to information we received, they are in the range of 30 persons, while 13 villages have been sacked by the Fulani herdsmen.


"We cannot say the cause of this renewed crisis but it may not be unconnected with the grazing of their cattle. If you newsmen will recall mid last year, the same Fulani people attacked our villages and killed many of our people."


Some of the villages, he claimed had been sacked include Tse Yanshe, Namikpe, Tse-gboku and Tser Ker. He, however, appealed to the government to build security posts in all the disturbed villages to curb invasion by the Fulani herdsmen.


Confirming the report, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Ejike Alaribe, said he could not give the actual figure of casualties but noted that normalcy was returning to the troubled areas.


In the Ilesa-Akure Expressway accident, reports said two 18-seater passenger buses had a collision and instantly caught fire, trapping the occupants of the two vehicles.


Eyewitnesses were said to have told the press crew of the Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, that "an unidentifiable 18-seater bus, which was heading probably to Ekiti State or Iwaraja swerved from its lane to avoid hitting a motorcyclist, who was allegedly being pursued by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps."


The reports added that the vehicle that swerved "hit the oncoming bus, which belongs to Akoko-Edo council, and which was said to be coming from Igarra in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State."


The press crew of Governor Fayemi, which said the team was on its way to Lagos "to attend a function," added that "the two buses caught fire immediately, trapping passengers and drivers of the two buses."


According to the crew, "five passengers were said to have managed to escape from the inferno but still got seriously injured," adding that the injured "have been taken to hospital for treatment while others who were said to be more than 20 were burnt to death."


It said, "efforts of passers-by and men of the Osun State fire services to fight the fire ended in futility as the casualties could not be saved."


9 killed in Borno, Kano

NO fewer than seven people, including three members of Boko Haram, were killed in two separate incidents in Maiduguri, Borno State.


Also, two policemen attached to the residence of a commissioner of police in Doroyi quarters, Kano, were killed by suspected members of Boko Haram, while two others were injured, when pandemonium broke out on Monday.


However, the Boko Haram violence in Borno has led to exodus of over 5,000 traders from Maidu-guri, the Nigerian Tribune has learnt.


Three members of the sect were allegedly gunned down by the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Maiduguri in the early hours of Monday, while attempting to burn down Lamisula Primary School, Maiduguri.


The sect members, in another incident, shot dead four people, including a woman and her 10-year-old child in Zannari ward, Maiduguri.


The other two persons killed by the Boko Haram were unidentified shop owner and a tailor at the Bamgouru market, which was set ablaze last month.


In an operation carried out in the early hours of Monday, which was confirmed by the JTF spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan Mohammed, the JTF laid ambush and killed three members of the sect while attempting to set ablaze the primary school.


The spokesman for Borno State police command, Sa-muel Tizhe, said though he learnt of the various attacks and killings, he was yet to be officially briefed.


In Kano, two policemen attached to the residence of a top security official were killed, while two others were injured.


The state commissioner of police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, confirmed the incident, adding that the hoodlums escaped with bullet wounds after they were given a chase by members of the public.


He, however, refuted a newspaper publication that Shekau, one of the Boko Haram leaders, escaped from police custody in Kano.

http://odili.net/news/source/2012/mar/6/620.html