Bagana and Ogba communities in Omala Local Government Area of Kogi State have remained ghost towns almost three weeks after a deadly attack by gunmen suspected to be Agatu/Fulani militias.
While some of the locals have blamed the attacks on some suspected Agatu militias from neighbouring Benue State, others accused the Fulani of being behind the attacks.
On Sunday, April 7, the suspected militias, numbering over 300, invaded the riverine communities on the border of Benue and Nasarawa states, killing, maiming residents and razing several houses.
The militias, who were alleged to have been camped in some neighbouring communities, invaded Bagana about 5.30 am that fateful day, unleashing mayhem on the people, after which they moved to neighbouring Ogba community to wreak further havoc.
Eight persons, including three policemen, have been reported killed, several injured and the entire communities now deserted following the attacks.
Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that the attackers, who overran the communities, razed over 200 houses in the process.
A native of the area, Musa Suleiman, said that prior to the attack, they had been apprehensions across the communities over planned attack, which was brought to the notice of the authorities concerned. He said the deadly attack came less than 24 hours after the Kogi State commissioner of police and some officials from the Department of State Service (DSS) visited the area with assurances of adequate security for the people.
A visit by our correspondent to the affected communities revealed a large scale destruction to properties and means of livelihood of the people.
Several houses, including important institutions such as a hospital and a court have been razed down by the attackers.
Commercial and socio-economic activities in these once bubbling agrarian communities have come to a standstill as locals have fled their homes to neighbouring communities in Omala Local Government Area, Nasarawa and Benue states.
A visit to local rice mills in the area, which used to be a beehive of activities, showed that all was not well with the community.
Bagana, with over 20,000 inhabitants, situated on the bank of River Benue, on the northern axis of Omala Local Government Area of Kogi State, is a multi-tribal community playing host to Igala, Agatu, Hausa, Nupe, Ebira, Igbo, Kanuri, Fulani and other minor tribes who had lived together in peace before the influx of the displaced Fulani/Agatu from Benue State in 2013.
Bagana is reputed to be the hub of business in Omala Local Government Area, with a striving cattle market and high agricultural productivity in the areas of rice, yam and cassava value chains, as well as fishing.
However, since 2013, Bagana and neighbouring communities of Ogbo Patani, Ajokpachi-Odo, Agojeju-Odo, Obakume and Icheke, have been facing persistence attacks, which left the communities in rubbles on most of the occasions.
A native of Bagana, Suleiman Ibrahim, said the communities got entangled in crisis for their magnanimity in allowing the warring factions – Agatu/Fulani – who had inflicted pains on each other in Benue State to take refuge in their domains.
“They have turned our community to a theater of war, with the attendant destruction to liIn late 2013, some suspected Agatu militias, numbering over 30, were said to have stormed the Bagana cattle market, shooting sporadically into the crowd, killing four persons and injuring scores, while over 42 cows were allegedly shot dead.
Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that the incident had, to a great extent, affected the booming cattle market in the community.
In December 2014, some suspected Fulani herdsmen were also said to have launched a reprisal attack on Bagana community, which led to the death of about 35 persons, while houses and property worth millions of naira were razed down.
The circle of attacks and counterattacks by the warring groups in the area appeared to have continued unabated.
Apart from the issue of Agatu/Fulani, another major factor that has been blamed for the perennial crisis is that of power tussle between two prominent traditional rulers in the community. They have been doing everything possible to ensure they maintain control on the economic fortunes of the community for their self interests. They were alleged to have been using their positions to cause confusion amongst people of the community.
Speaking on the recent attack, the district head of Bagana, Chief Ali Haruna Stephen, alleged that suspected herdsmen attacked the community without any provocation, saying that nobody could ascertain the number of people killed by the assailants.
The third class traditional ruler lamented that apart from Bagana, the ravaging herdsmen also proceeded to two other neighbouring villages to unleash terror.
He called on the state government to institute an administrative panel of inquiry to unravel the causes of the attacks, with a view to finding a lasting solution to safeguard the lives of the people.
A Bagana youth leader, Mohammed Yusuf, who lamented the situation, said many residents of the community had fled to Abejukolo, the headquarters of Omala Local Government Area and other towns for safety. He appealed to the state government to establish a naval base in the community for a lasting solution, stressing that the recent attack was the third and most devastating.
A native of Bagana, Umar Ismaila Imam, while lamenting the havoc wreaked on the community, called for a lasting solution. He said about eight people were killed while others who sustained injuries were being treated in the hospital. He blamed the attack on Agatu youths, whom he alleged had been terrorising people of the community for a long time.
“People keep saying the attack is by the Fulani, but it is the Agatu youth. Every now and then, they come here in their hundreds on motorbikes on market days.
There is no market day you will not see them parading the town. They have turned this place to a war zone. As you can see, a lot of people have left their houses; and the houses have been burnt. We will appeal to the government to be magnanimous enough to come to our aid. How much are the local people here earning that they can put up some of those structures that have been burnt?
“We want the government to set up a powerful commission of inquiry. Let people come and submit memos, let people come and testify because we believe there are individuals behind this crisis that is living here in this community. Until this issue is resolved once and for all, this issue of killing will not stop,” he said.
Also speaking, the chairman of the Coalition of Igala Community Districts Development Association and Social Cultural Organisation, Deacon Simon Agada, who was in the community, expressed sadness over the level of destruction on Bagana and Ogba communities.
“We are heartbroken at the level of damage we have seen on ground here. A lot of houses have been razed and people have fled. We only met goats; human beings are not available in this large community now. We are pleading with the government to immediately go into the matter by setting up a committee that will find a lasting solution to this type of problem,” he said.
On his part, the secretary of the group, Inah Isaac, said the level of destruction was unimaginable, and urged the government to come to the aid of the victims.
“We are not happy with the level of destruction in our communities. Igalaland has been known for peace over the years. Going through this massive trauma is a pain to our people.
“We are calling for an immediate reconstruction of this place because a lot of our people have lost their properties and are in internally displaced persons camps now.
“We are also asking that apart from this immediate security measures put in place, government should do everything possible to establish a security unit in this place. It can be a naval base or mobile unit to control the flow through this water border.
“Possibly, a military barracks will be good because the incident here has continued unabated since 2014,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Kogi State police command, William Aya, said a detachment of its men, comprising the police mobile force, counterterrorism unit, as well as men of the Nigerian Army, had been deployed to the areas in the wake of the attack.
He said that normalcy had been restored to the affected communities, adding that his men were still fully on ground to maintain security in the affected areas. He said that no arrest had been made so far, adding that investigations were still ongoing, with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book.
When contacted, member representing Agatu State Constituency at the Benue Assembly, Hon. Sule Audu denied the allegation that the attack was launched by Agatu people, adding that about 40% of those residing in Bagana are Agatus.
“Well, I think the allegation that Agatu people went to attack Bagana is not true because despite the fact that Bagana is in Omala LGA in Kogi State, 40% of people residing in the area are Agatu people and Agatu people cannot go and kill their own people.
“Although, I have not gotten the details of the attack but as I’m talking to you now, I’m in my village and my sister who is a victim of the crisis in Bagana is right now with us with her nine children.
“I think from the little information I have gathered, it was the Fulanis that attacked them. It is not Agatu people because, 40% of the people residing there are Agatu people and I don’t see any reason why Agatu people should go and attack where their people are staying. That is all I can say for now until I get the full details of how the whole thing started”, he said.
On his part, the Kogi State Secretary of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), Mohammed Abubakar also denied the allegation that the attack was carried out by the Fulani herdsmen.
He said given the constant hostilities and attacks meted against Fulanis and their cattle in Omala Local Government Area in time past, its members decided not to be grazing in the whole of Omala LGA in the interest of peace.
According to him, the Fulani herdsmen had no hands in the incident as being insinuated, adding that the Fulanis in the state usually go about their activities peacefully.
He said after one of the previous attacks on Omala community, there was recommendation made by stakeholders on the need for the government to provide security patrol along the riverine communities in Omala to checkmate the activities of criminal elements that operate in the area.
Mohammed however observed that government had not done anything in that regard.
