The assailants arrived by boat on Wednesday, opened fire on the people and burnt down homes. An eyewitness said they wore military fatigue and wielded AK 47 assault rifles. Many of the residents who fled for their lives remain unaccounted for.
A source claimed the attackers, “about 500”, burnt down over 20 houses, killed anyone in sight and shot at those who tried to escape into the bushes.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police Monday Bala confirmed the incident during a press conference yesterday but declined to give casualty figures. He said the Commissioner of Police Aliyu Janga has drafted policemen and other security operatives to the area to restore order.
In February, Governor Yahaya Bello donated 15,000 hectares of land for the controversial Federal Government’s cattle colony policy. He said Fulani herdsmen would be brought to the land, since the state didn’t have any anti-grazing law, as enacted by neighbouring Benue State.
The Senate yesterday condemned the attack and urged the Federal Government to deploy security agencies in the affected local government areas.
The resolution followed a point of order raised by Senator Atai Aidoko (APC, Kogi East). Aidoko said the herdsmen killed 20 people in Oganenigu community in Dekina and 12 others in Abejukolo and Agbenema communities in Omala.
“I want this Senate to urge President Muhammadu Buhari to direct security agencies to bring the situation under control by arresting the perpetrators and ensuring they are prosecuted. This killing is taking on another dimension, as the killers also amputate people’s hands,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has said that his government is on top of the situation where Ogane-Nigu and other communities were attacked by armed bandits even as he is set to visit the affected communities.
In a press release signed by the Director-General, Media and Publicity, Kingsley Fanwo, Governor Bello assured the communities that perpetrators of the heinous crime will be apprehended.
“On 14th March, 2018 at about 05:00hrs, an attack was carried out on Ogane-Nigu and nearby communities in the Eastern Senatorial Zone of Kogi State by armed bandits suspected to be herdsmen.
The Kogi State Government ensured that the military, the police and other relevant security agencies, including members of the Kogi State Vigilante Services were immediately mobilised to the affected areas following the initial reports.
“The violence has since been contained and brought under control. The incident however remains under investigation while efforts are ongoing to apprehend the attackers and bring them to justice,” he said.
Credit: vanguard, guardian