Foreign herders behind recent farmer killings in Plateau, Benue — Military

The Military High Command on Thursday identified foreign herders as the perpetrators of recent violent attacks on local communities and the killings of farmers in Plateau, Benue, and other states.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, disclosed this to Defence Correspondents while fielding questions at the bi-weekly media update on military operations against insurgent activities across the six geopolitical zones in the country.

According to him, “Well, when you hear them talk in some instances, you’ll be able to decipher whether these people are from here or not, and from the North. For instance, if I speak Hausa and my brother from the South East speaks Hausa, you’ll know that, Kai, this Hausa is a borrowed one. Like any other language, Hausa has different versions and intonations.

“If somebody from Sokoto, for instance, speaks Hausa, and my friend from Katsina speaks Hausa, you’ll hear some differences. And if somebody from Kano speaks Hausa, you’ll hear more differences. Somebody from my state will have a remarked difference for that matter. The Hausa spoken in Nigeria differs from the Hausa spoken in Mali, the Hausa spoken in the Central African Republic, and the Hausa spoken in Ghana.

“So when we arrest these herders and terrorists, even the way they speak and appear is clear to see. Even their hair will tell you that this person is not from Nigeria.

“I think the only community in Nigeria that has hair similar to the Shuwa in the Sahel region is probably the Shuwa Arabs in Borno State, but even they don’t have the exact same characteristics.

“So, one will also admit that many of those terrorising our people are foreigners, even though some of them are also Nigerians.”

He further explained, “There are some herders who are Nigerians and are simply involved in rearing their cows. Sometimes, they encroach on farmlands, leading to conflict between the farmers and the herders. These are the issues we are trying to resolve.

“But know that most of the violence and incessant killings you are hearing in some parts of this country are perpetrated mostly by those who find their way into Nigeria through its porous borders.”*

Speaking on the way forward, he emphasised the need for collective efforts, “But we must, as a nation, rise up together with other agencies responsible for ensuring that those who come into Nigeria are accounted for. There are agencies responsible for that, so we have to collaborate. That is why we say we work within a joint environment to ensure that we address insecurity.”