Grazing bill: Herdsmen attack Benue community killed one

About 24 hours after the anti-open grazing law by Benue State Government took effect, suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked some communities in Logo Local Government Area of the state, killed one person, Ortse Kwaghdoo (40), and injuring a 70 year-old man, Hinger Aka. A source in the area who disclosed this to our correspondent in confidence, said the incident happened in the Tombo ward of the local government area in the early hours of Wednesday when the deceased was shot while fishing. He said the remains of Kwaghdoo had been deposited in a mortuary while Aka was being treated at a public health facility. “We alerted to the presence of massive influx of strange Fulani herdsmen in Gaambe-tiev, Logo Local Government Area. They have moved in their thousands with their cows and settled in Ukemberagya/Tswarev council ward at Zaki Hemem, Tyo-Afia, Tse Gusa, Tse Agir, Ordughga Nagwa, Tsafa, Chia Orabum and Jootar area. “In Mbagber ward, they are at Gov-Uwev while in Tombo council ward they are at Azege, Anyibe and Fanu. “We are appealing to the authorities concerned to mobilise security officials to curtail further carnage by theses marauders.” He advised that security be beefed up in the area so farmers could harvest their crops. The Special Adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom on Security, Col. Edwin Jando (retd.), who is also the state chairman, Task Force on Implementation of Anti-open Grazing Law, confirmed that there was an attack on the area. He said, “Yes, there is an attack on that area but we have arrested the suspected herdsman. So, no panic in the area, the situation in the area is calm.’’ The Benue State Command Police Public Relations officer, ASP Moses Yamu, confirmed the attack. He said the command received a report on November 2 that there was an attack on Azege village in Logo where suspected herdsmen passed through in the early hours of the day. “The DPO and mobile policemen stationed at Ayilamo quickly moved in and discovered that one Ortser Kwaghdoo was killed while Hingir Akaa sustained injuries,” he said. Meanwhile, the leadership of the Universal Reformed Christian Church Worldwide has condemned the reaction of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association to the Anti-Open Grazing Law recently signed into law by the Benue State Government. The group, in a statement on Thursday by its President, Rev. Dr Ayohol Ate, called on the Federal Government to prevail on cattle breeders not to disregard the law. The statement read, “As leaders of the church and of the people, we unequivocally condemn the continuous intimidation and violent acts against our people and the calculated attempts to humiliate our political leaders. We also condemn in the strongest terms the call to anarchy by the leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association. “We unanimously call on the President, Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the National Assembly, as a matter of urgency, to caution the leadership of Miyetti Allah. When the law is spurned, the law of the jungle becomes the sad alternative. No civilised society ought to pursue that path.”