A Narrow Escape

Emmanuel Addehwrites that penultimate Wednesday’s attack on Dr. Chris Ekiyor, a Niger Delta youth lead er, by suspected Fulani herdsmen could have unpalatable consequences for the already fragile peace in the region

He sat down on a chair in the frontage of his Patani home, still bewildered by the events of the previous night; obviously an occasion that could have taken his life.

His slim frame and boyish looks betraying his age and unarguably long sojourn in the struggle for a better Niger Delta and a more equitable Nigeria, Dr. Chris Ekiyor, one of the most prominent names in the region, had on his face an admixture of pain and anger.

Of course, he had every reason to be livid, if his recollection of the night before Thursday was anything to go by. It was a near death event that could shake even the bravest of hearts.

That evening, he had just met with some associates in Asaba, Delta State and was returning to his home in Patani, a few minutes’ drive from Bayelsa State when he stopped over to buy bread in Ughelli.

After just a few minutes from there, the unexpected happened, his life flipped before his very eyes. The victims mustered the last effort they could to escape the maurauding assailants.

Alongside his driver, Ekiyor, a former Commissioner in Delta, who said he usually doesn’t move around with security personnel, narrated that he was sitting on the passenger side of his car when the incident happened.

He said suddenly, some gunmen emerged from the bush and started shooting in his direction. The bullets pierced through both front tyres, while another was deflected, just hitting the body of the car by the side.

A former President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and ex-Chairman of Patani Local Government, a confused Ekiyor instructed his driver to continue to move despite the fact that the car had become almost immobilised.
According to him, if he had stopped to check what was happening, he wouldn’t have been alive to tell the rest of the story.

Ekiyor, a renowned Niger Delta activist who was attacked around Unenure and Evwreni, Ughelli North between 6.30p.m. and 6.40p.m., while returning to his home in Patani by the suspected herders who shot at his Prado SUV several times, blew up his two front tyres and damaged a portion of the vehicle.

He told journalists in his Patani home that he was convinced that his attackers were Fulani herdsmen and called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to see the menace from the point of view of party politics.

The respected Niger Delta leader said a car following closely behind him was hit by the bullets from the guns used by his attackers, which unfortunately hit a corps member on his hand and leg before he was rushed to the hospital.
While journalists were in Ekiyor’s compound, youth leaders from the region had mobilised to the place, underscoring how much high esteem they hold the man.

But answering questions, Ekiyor argued that if it was a case of robbery the hoodlums would have stolen from their victims, adding that after the attack, the herdsmen ran back into the bush.

“Let me tell you what I know. I have lived in the North, South, West, East of Nigeria. I have friends all over Nigeria. I am convener of Integration Summit Group and I have representatives in all 774 local governments, which means I have Fulani friends.

“I have said that I grew up in small shanties in the North in Niger State. The people I see shooting today are not the kind of Fulani I knew. But those who shot at me yesterday, I know their physiognomy. I know them.
“They showed up in a manner akin to the Fulani people. They had Fulani dresses, Fulani hats, Fulani trousers, they just walked out of the bush and started shooting,” the activist said.

He noted that the menace had started threatening the very existence of the country, insisting that the men he saw did not act like they were ordinary armed robbers.

“It was a straight stretch of the road, they did not put any barricade on the road, they didn’t rob anybody. After shooting , they ran back into the bush. The community has confirmed that there are armed Fulani people around there and I asked them ‘what are youths doing’ because very soon, they will run you out of town. They are either Fulani herdsmen or militias.

“Today, the people who shoot and kill on Kaduna express to Abuja, are herdsmen, in Maiduguri they have been known to be herdsmen, those in Ogun are herdsmen, in Ondo the same thing, even those who kidnapped and killed a man in Ogwashi-uku were known to be herdsmen.

“I saw them. They started shooting just as I was arriving. I saw two, the car behind me said they saw five, plus one on the other side of the road. Whether they were robbers or not, I have seen robbers on this road before, in fact, we have repelled them even as IYC president. But by their dress code and mannerism, these were Hausa Fulani people,” he maintained.

However, he added that he did not stop until he got to a nearby community, which was also in chaos at the time on hearing the persistent gunshots from the suspected hoodlums.
“I had thought I would get help from the nearest police checkpoint, but the policemen rushed into their vehicle and zoomed off. I called the former DPO in Patani, who had earlier tried to intervene when they first attacked and raped our girls and women.

“He gave me the Area Commander’s number whom I called and he was quite sympathetic, unfortunately, he said he didn’t have a patrol vehicle and there were minimal arms at the station. Until soldiers who were driving through the East West Road shot their way through and cleared the way. How I survived is up to God,” he said.
The activist maintained that the country was currently under siege by alleged Fulani herdsmen, insisting that they are criminals who should be treated as such.

In the meantime, angry Ijaw youths who visited Ekiyor, a Dental Surgeon and founder of RAHI Medical Outreach, said they would meet in the next few days to map out their next line of action.

IYC President, Roland Owelaemi who led the youths said it was unfathomable that terrorists were taking over the entire country, yet little or nothing was being done.

“This is unfortunate because we are very peaceful people. This person is a former president of IYC. This is an attack on the ijaw nation. If they can attack a former Ijaw IYC president, then we can say that this is a handshake that is gradually going beyond the elbow.

“The Ijaw nation will not sit back and wait for intruders and terrorists or herdsmen by whatever name, they are criminals and the Ijaw nation will rise up to the occasion and defend ourselves from the cities to the villages. “The security agencies must move in to unravel whoever is involved because it is an attack on the Ijaw nation. Thank God he is live. In a couple of days, in a short whole, the Ijaw nation will gather and decide the next line of action to take. We are capable of defending ourselves, we have never been defeated,” he said.

In a separate statement released by the Spokesman of the IYC, Daniel Dasimaka, the youths expressed shock over the attack on the vehicle of Ekiyor by the herdsmen.

The body noted that although the Council was still consulting with all relevant Ijaw leaders and stakeholders on the appropriate response to “this unprovoked assault on the Ijaw nation,” the federal government, especially its security agencies should tackle the growing threat posed by the herdsmen on the security of lives and property in Nigeria.

They added that the Ijaw youths could not tolerate any further attacks or attempts on the safety and lives of any other Ijaw person. “We are still very much shocked by the reports of the brazen attack on the vehicle of our former president, Dr Chris Ekiyor in the heart of the Niger Delta by Fulani herdsmen.

“We want to thank God for sparing him from the evil plans of the terrorists posing as herdsmen. This is because, God forbid, if even a hair was touched on the body of our leader, Dr Ekiyor, there certainly would have been appropriate sanctions from the Ijaw nation.

“We are therefore calling on the federal government and its security agencies to wake up to properly tackle this terrorist herdsmen menace head-on now before things get out of hand.
“We Ijaws shall consider any further attack on any Ijaw people as a clear declaration of war against the Ijaw nation and respond accordingly,” Dasimaka said.

For now, it is unpredictable how the youths from the region who see the attack as an insult on the generality of the Ijaw people plan to put a halt to the seeming invasion of the Niger Delta by the hoodlums.
But what is clear, however, is that the issue remains a time bomb, which must be carefully defused to avoid more casualties, many of whom are likely to be innocent people.