Security forces finally wake up to herdsmen crisis as army arrest two armed Fulanis in Benue who open fire on them

SECURITY operatives appear to have finally woken up to the responsibility of confronting the Fulani cattle herdsmen saga after soldiers from the 707 Special Forces Brigade of the Nigerian Army arrested two armed pastoralists in Benue State yesterday.

Over recent years, heavily-armed Fulani herdsmen equipped with AK47 assault rifles have laid siege to farming communities across the Middle Belt, attacking villages that dare to oppose them grazing their livestock on their land. Despite the fact that hundreds have died in these clashes, the security forces have turned a blind eye to the menace, prompting criticism that the Nigerian Army is in collusion with the herdsmen.

Within the last week, however, the government appears to have started taking the matter seriously as President Muhammadu Buhari has instructed the Nigerian Army to go after killer herdsmen behind the killings in Benue, Taraba, Niger and Kaduna states. Consequently, the Nigerian Army said it would begin a special exercise tagged Operation Cat Race which to tackle the recurring herdsmen/farmers clashes and criminal activities.

Yesterday, two herdsmen were arrested in Benue State after they exchanged fire with troops on a routine patrol along the Gbajimba-Iyiodeh Road in Guma Local Government Area. Major Olabisi Ayeni, the spokesman for the 707 Special Forces Brigade, said the suspects who were arrested close to a fish farm owned by Governor Samuel Ortom, were planning a dangerous mission but were sighted by the troops on patrol.

According to Major Ayeni the  militia who were suspected to be converging, possibly for an attack on Governor Ortom’s farm were about to be approached for questioning when they opened fire on the troops as they made to run away but were engaged and two of them arrested. He added that the two herdsmen were handed over to the police.

Also yesterday, the police arraigned an 18-year-old herder, Abu Shagari, in a Makurdi Magistrates’ Court, for alleged open grazing. Prosecutor, Sergeant Abdulkarim Abubakar, told the court that the accused person was arrested by a team of vigilance group, led by one Gwaza Jacob.

Sergeant Abubakar said the team was on patrol on Adaka Road in Makurdi metropolis, when they saw the accused person taking his cattle to openly graze on the field. He said the accused person hailed from Shabu village in Nasarawa State.