Nasarawa Bombings: Sule Meets Leaders of Miyetti Allah

Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia

The Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, yesterday met with the national leadership of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, a Fulani socio-cultural group, following the bomb blast which resulted in the death of about 40 Fulani herders, in Rukubi, Doma Local Government Area.

Sule met with the Fulani community leaders at the Government House.

Briefing journalists shortly after meeting the Fulani community leaders, Governor  Sule  said the meeting became necessary in order to further continuous efforts on peace -building, as well as to condole with and sympathise with the victims.

He disclosed that, following revelations from the victims of the attack, his administration would  take up the matter with the federal government, aimed at finding lasting solution to similar incidences.

 The governor confirmed that the Rukubi attack was carried out by an unidentified drone, which led to the loss of lives and cattle and not Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

He further disclosed that he had spoken with his Benue State counterpart, Governor Samuel Ortom, on the incidence, following which the Benue governor agreed to release about 230 cattle impounded free of charge.

He said he had taken it upon himself to arrange for the leaders of the Miyetti Allah, alongside Fulani community leaders and survivors of the attack, to meet with top security chiefs in Abuja, with a view to taking steps to forestall feature occurrence of similar attacks.

Sule said: “As you are aware, we had an incident yesterday, where a drone, we confirmed it’s a drone, bombed an area where some Fulanis who went to retrieve their impounded cattle in Benue State were bombed, with about 40 people killed.

“As part of our effort at peace-building and showing sympathy to the victims, we decided to invite the national leaders of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and we are lucky, the national chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Bodejo came along with some of the other Ardos as well as security agencies. From what you saw, roughly about 200 other leaders of the Fulani community from Nasarawa State and also part of Benue attended the meeting.

“We were able first to send our condolences over the incident that happened and the loss of lives we had yesterday. After that, we were able to hear from them first hand, exactly what has happened. And we heard about all the various loses of the cattle that happened. 

“In addition to that, we were able to pacify them and took a decision to take this matter up with the federal government and we are also trying to schedule a meeting where some of the leaders of Miyetti Allah will also have the opportunity to meet with some of the security chiefs in Abuja, for the purpose of finding lasting solution to what is happening right now.

“We have spoken also to the Governor of Benue State a few times and the Governor has given the go ahead for all the remaining cattle, over 230, currently in custody, to be released without any payment from any Fulani, who usually pay roughly N300,000 for every cattle and sometimes up to N700,000 for the feeding of a cow,” he stated.

On his part, National Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Bodejo, appreciated the governor for intervening and working assiduously to resolve the matter with a view to ensuring lasting solutions to the recurring attacks on mostly Fulani herders along the Nasarawa/Benue borders.

“We condoled with the governor over the killings of Fulanis. The Governor is taking everybody along in his efforts to bring about lasting peace. He has been able to convince his Benue State counterpart to release all our cattle held in custody in Benue State.

“We have agreed to follow him and to support him in his efforts to resolve the issue. We also agree to meet with security chiefs in Abuja so that we can tell them first hand about the incidence towards finding lasting peace,” he said.

Also commenting, Nasarawa State Commissioner of Police, Maiyaki Muhammed Baba, said his command had taken adequate steps to forestall reprisal attacks in the area, with mobile policemen deployed to the area to sustain the peace.

Meanwhile, victims of the bomb explosion in Rukubi village have called on the federal government to set up an independent investigative panel to unravel the circumstances surrounding the attack to ensure that the perpetrators of the act face justice.

In an interview with THISDAY, one of the victims, Mallam Usman Bawa, who was receiving medical attention at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia said the attack was unprovoked.

He explained that they came out in large number from their residents in Rukubi to offload their cows on arrival from Benue State were the cows were being held for days as a result of violation of the Benue State government’s anti-open grazing laws.

According to Mallam Usman Bawa, “while some of us were bringing down the cows from the vehicle, others were preventing them from going to the stream to drink water having not been fed for days.

“If cows stay for days without food and they are made to drink water after they are released they will die. Among us that were affected by the explosion were those who came out to lend helping hands for the owners of the cows that were arrested by Benue State Government.”

Mallam Umar Usman, who was seen with multiple injuries in different parts of his body,  pointed out that the explosion shattered his legs but he was thankful to God for saving his life.

Another victim, Mallam Adamu Abdullahi, stated that he lost three of his friends who accompanied him to the area to receive the cows while he escaped death with broken arm and deep cuts in his stomach and other parts of his body.

He said it was not clear to him whether it was airstrike or bomb and other explosive devices were planted in the vehicle that conveyed the cows.

A resident of Rukubi village, Mallam Haruna Bawa, who was also at the hospital to attend to his brother, said he rushed to the scene of the explosion after hearing a loud noise with thick smoke emanating from the area.

He noted that he counted over 54 lifeless bodies including four of his brothers.

“Some of the people who died in the attack were butchers who were invited to slaughter the cows that felt sick while in detention to avoid wastage.”

The victims of the bomb explosion were on admission at a private facility and Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, with two more deaths.