The Ondo herder attacks

IN spite of the seeming improvement in the efforts by the federal security agencies to rein in the incidence of crime lately, especially banditry and terrorism, it is evident that crime and lawlessness are still festering. The repeated mass killings in Benue State in recent times, the kidnapping of nine surveyors in Abo community in the Akure South Local Government in Ondo State and the recent killing of about 20 farmers in four communities in the Akure North Local Government of the state are an eloquent pointer to the fact that innocent citizens are still at the mercy of deadly outlaws. The citizens of Ondo State, in particular, are becoming really despondent regarding the capacity of the security agencies to protect them. For instance, the suspected herdsmen who orchestrated the killing of over 20 farmers in Aba Pastor, Aba Sunday, Ademekun Camp and Aba Alajido Camp within Ala Elefosan penultimate Friday, were said to have operated for several hours without any challenge from any quarters. The bandits reportedly had a field day sacking the four communities at one go. It was horrifying. Some survivors said about 40 persons may have been killed by the bandits but the official figure is 20 while only 14 bodies have been recovered. Irrespective of the actual number of the dead, it is bad enough that the incident happened and involved fatalities.

It is believed in some quarters that there is laxity in security efforts in the state because Amotekun does not have the kind of prominence it enjoyed during the late Rotimi Akeredolu’s era as governor. For instance, while ruing the bandits attack on her community, the Regent of Ademekun Community, Princess Adelowo Adekemisola, said: “Fourteen people were killed… by the herdsmen who infiltrated my community and started shooting sporadically. The community has been battling the herdsmen problem for the past six years. The herdsmen came through the Edo-Ondo boundary to attack our community, but they were rescued by Amotekun during the Akeredolu administration. The perpetrators were arrested and paraded, and peace returned to the community during that time.” It is imperative that the government ups its ante and empowers the local security outfit sufficiently to carry out its mandate of complementing the efforts of the federal security agencies in the onerous task of protecting lives and properties. The federal security agencies are evidently overstretched. Ondo State is bordered by Edo and Kogi, where terrorism and banditry are prevalent,  and this has predisposed it to attacks. This fact should have been reckoned with by the managers of the state.

The two dastardly attacks by the terrorists, namely the kidnapping of nine surveyors followed by the gruesome killing of 20 farmers, have reportedly sent shock waves to communities and citizens of the state. Some citizens protested the incidents in front of the governor’s office, urging the government to take concrete steps to ensure the safety and security of citizens, particularly farmers and vulnerable communities. They also demanded the immediate release of the kidnapped surveyors and justice for the slain farmers. We hope the state government has listened to the people’s grievances and will take swift and pragmatic steps to address them on a sustainable basis.

There has been more rhetoric than action by the authorities despite persistent outcry by Nigerians and the media. For example, the governments of the South-West have yet to fully activate the joint collaborative drive on surveillance which they promised the people of the geopolitical zone some weeks ago when they alerted the citizenry to the imminent incursion of bandits and terrorists into the South-West forests following the heat on them by the federal security agents in the North. We praised the governors then for their seeming proactive sensitisation in the hope that they would take swift preemptive action to stave off the criminals. However, a premonition has been followed by a disaster, which happens only when the beneficiary of a premonition is not serious or is lackadaisical.  People were cut down in cold blood without any official intervention in Ondo State in an incident whose occurrence was, in a sense, foretold. The herders had a field day killing people without any challenge from the official quarters. It was terrible. This should not have happened. The governors should be up and doing. They must stymie these brazen killings anywhere in the South-West. If bureaucracy is standing in the way of swift security actions, it should be abridged: the protection of lives and properties is far too important to be short-circuited on the altar of bureaucratic bottlenecks. 

As we said before, the governors of the South-West should form a common front and impress on the Federal Government the imperative of adequately arming personnel of the South-West Security Network. The Amotekun corps whose staffers are drawn from and work in their local environments are familiar with the terrain and could help to significantly reduce acts of criminality if they are adequately armed. If the governor or government of each state has to issue a guarantee to the Federal Government that the arms would be used for the intended purpose only, then they should do so. Not a few citizens were glad to see the governors of the South-West geopolitical zone set aside their political differences to tackle security challenges in the zone. However, such enthusiasm/optimism has started to wane with the spate of killings and kidnapping in the zone recently. Thus, the citizens will like to see more action and less of rhetoric going forward. 

Perhaps it should be noted that no one, regardless of his/her status, is completely insulated from attack by the terrorists, especially when they have been allowed to gain a foothold in any space. Governor Samuel Ortom was attacked on his farm in March 2021 when he was a sitting governor in Benue State, and he only narrowly escaped death after running about one and a half kilometers on foot. Similarly, the Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum,  escaped death by a whisker when Boko Haram terrorists attacked his convoy on July 29, 2020 in Baga town in Kukuwa Local Government Area of the State, where he had gone to distribute relief materials. He was so frustrated that he accused the Nigerian Army of sabotage.

It is unfortunate that what citizens in this part of the country hitherto used to hear as news from the North is happening to them in their farms and homesteads. We ask again: where is the joint security team promised by the South-West governors? We urge the governors to act fast in making good their promise. The terrorists’ attacks they predicted recently have started to happen again in the zone after what seemed like a respite. It is important to ensure that what happened in Ondo State recently is not replicated elsewhere in the zone. The governors should realise that the best legacy they can bequeath to their people is peace and tranquility in the absence of which socioeconomic progress is hardly possible.

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