Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase
No less than 40 indigenes lay dead by the time
the echoes from the booming weapons of
Monday’s early morning attack by the dreaded
Fulani herdsmen on Ukpabi Nimo, a sleepy
community in Uzouwani council of Enugu
State.
It was an early morning invasion that caught
them unawares. As the guns boomed and
sounds of grenades rained the air, many who
did not understand what was amiss ran to
different directions apparently for safety.
However, while they ran, many were caught
in the crossfire. Some gave up the ghost before
help could come, many others sustained
injuries and were rushed to hospitals in
Nsukka.
The Bishop Shenahan hospital Nsukka, which
became a mecca of sort could no longer
receive bodies -both living and dead. Thus
many were referred to others hospital.
Monday morning's attack on the sleepy was
described as the heaviest to be launched by
suspected Fulani herdsmen in the area in
recent times.
Whirlwindnews.com gathered that suspected
gunmen numbering over 200 and wielding
AK47, grenades and other dangerous weapons
had stormed the community shooting and
killing anybody in sight.
As they moved, they attacked houses, shops
and any property in sight while the villagers
who are mostly farmers took to their heels.
In an ensuing melee, several residents were
said to have been hit by bullets while an
unascertained number received injuries.
Sources from the community put the number
of deaths at over 48. They said that over 30
persons had been killed and several injuries
sustained before rescue from the police and
soldiers could come.
However, Police Public Relations Officer,
Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere
Amaraizu, who confirmed that the
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Nwodibo
Ekechukwu, led other officers and men to the
area, added that the total number of casualties
could not be ascertained as of the time of
filing this report. He added that the situation
in the community had been brought under
control.
We moved in to ensure that the situation did
not degenerate beyond control and right now
everything is under control.
“The Commissioner of Police is there with
other officers and men and the area is being
secured. We can’t give the total number of
casualties yet, it is when the operation is
concluded that we will collate figures and give
a definite number,” Amaraizu said.
But sources at the Bishop Shanahan Hospital,
Nsukka said that the corpses of over 20
persons who died in the attack had been
recovered, adding that the corpses had been
deposited at the morgue.
The cause of the latest attack may not be
unconnected with an alleged missing of cows
belonging to herdsmen, which they were said
to have severally complained about.
It was learnt that the situation further
degenerated after some herdsmen who operate
in Ukpabi Nimbo and other communities in the
Uzo-Uwani area claimed that more cows were
missing by the day.
The villagers alleged that most of the
herdsmen that were involved in
Monday’s attack were ‘imported’ from
Nasarawa State by other Fulani herdsmen who
were already operating in Enugu.
It was gathered that, before the herdsmen
struck on Monday, there was tension in
Ukpabi Nimo and other communities in the
Uzo-Uwani area over widespread rumour that
about 500 herdsmen were mobilising to attack
them.
It was learnt that the villagers, in anticipation
of an imminent attack by herdsmen, had
alerted the Enugu State Government, and the
leadership of the Enugu State Police Command.
According to sources, the Chairman, Transition
Committee, Uzo-Uwani Local Government
Area, Cornell Onwubuya, who was said to
have informed the state governor, Ifeanyi
Ugwuanyi, and the police commissioner,
Nwodibo Ekechukwu, of the fears nursed by
villagers, also met the leadership of the Hausa-
Fulani community in the area over the matter.
Interestingly, the rumoured planned attack by
500 herdsmen was the subject of an
emergency stakeholders meeting in the Uzo-
Uwani area council during the weekend, hours
before the herdsmen struck.
The meeting, reportedly, also deliberated on
incessant herdsmen-related problems in the
area, including several cases of murder,
kidnappings and rape recorded in the recent
past.
At the meeting, Onwubuya, reportedly
disclosed that some leaders of the Hausa-
Fulani community had confirmed the
rumoured plan by the herdsmen to launch an
attack in the area.
When contacted yesterday, Onwubuya
lamented that despite the efforts he made to
stop the attack the suspected herdsmen still
went ahead to unleash mayhem on the
community.
The attack is the third in the state and the
second council in the last three months. Abi
community in the same Uzouwani council area
of the state was on Tuesday, February 9th,
2016, attacked by herdsmen
who invaded the community at
about 4.00pm from the neighbouring
community of Kogi state and killed and
destroyed property and farmlands, valued at
several millions.
It was learnt that the attack carried out by
over 20 armed to the teeth persons, led to the
death of four persons. The alleged herdsmen
were said to be retaliating the death of one of
their members said to have been caused
during a clash in the farm.
On March 17, suspected herdsmen had clashed
with local farmers of Ugwuleshi community in
Awgu local government council of the state.
The incident led to the arrest of 76 local
farmers of the community by soldiers who
invaded the community in two trucks following
reports that the natives destroyed houses and
attacked the herdsmen with dangerous
weapons.
Those who were arrested regained their
freedom after spending three weeks in various
prisons in Umuahia, following the intervention
of the governors of Abia and Enugu states that
led to their being granted bail.
They would return to the Umuahia High Court
on April 29, for the continuation of their
matter.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi had claimed he
met recently with the leadership of the Fulani
herdsmen in the state where an agreement
was reached on how they could live in peace
with their host communities.
The governor had told wailing natives at
Ugwuleshi during his visit: “This is a
temptation but since we have a living God, I
believe we will solve this. It is a security
matter. It has happened in Uzouwani, it has
happened in Nsukka and we resolved all of it,
so this one will also be resolved”.
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