WHILE hosting the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and its sister organisation, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) recently, the Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, claimed that drones were deployed in the recent attack on innocent herders in Bukubi, a boundary community between Nasarawa and Benue states, during which 40 of them were reportedly killed. Earlier reports had indicated that the bombing was carried out by the Nigerian Air Force. But speaking during an appearance on Arise TV, Governor Sule suggested that the situation was a bit more complex. He said: “It will be very difficult to arrest anyone at the moment because the whole place at that moment was in total disarray. The rumours earlier were that the Air Force carried out the bombing but right now, we understand that there was no Air Force plane that flew through the area. It was a drone that flew through the area and dropped the bomb. I have spoken with all the security agencies around and all of them claimed they did not know anything about it. Nobody is claiming responsibility for the bombing.”
Reacting to the incident, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) described it as highly regrettable. In a statement signed by its Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Fatimah Agwai Mohammed, the commission urged the Federal Government to compensate the victims and hold the erring officers accountable in order to forestall a reurrence. It said: “While we urge the Federal Government and the Nigerian military to ensure justice and compensation for the families of the victims, the NHRC will, in line with its mandate, monitor the development and seek the protection of the rights of victims as well as payment of compensations for the lives and properties lost as a result of the unfortunate incident.”
In the absence of official clarifications on the incident, anxiety and suspicion have festered in the polity as the former Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, pointedly accused the Benue State governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom, of involvement in the incident. But the governor dismissed the allegation, saying that he lacked the powert to order an air raid. Already, tension is brewing as suspected herdsmen have reportedly lauched attacks on Tiv farmers in Nasarawa State following the incident. President of the Tiv Development Association (TIDA) in Nasarawa State, Mr. Peter Ahemba, alleged that scores of innocent Tiv farmers had been murdered and displaced from their communities across Doma, Keana and Obi local government areas of the state, urging the federal and Nasarawa State governments to urgently intervene and halt the ongoing attacks.
If since the tragic incident, there have been altercations among various groups and individuals, and if the incident is beginning to assume avoidable ethnic colorations with accusations and counter-accusations traded across board, it is principally because the Federal Government has failed to do its duty. It cannot be great news that two weeks after the incident, it has not told Nigerians what actually transpired. This is, to say the very least, unacceptable. If the victims were killed in error during a military offensive, then the military high command and the government ought to own up, tender an apology, and take steps to forestall such incidents in the future. It cannot be too difficult for the government to take responsibility for the damage caused by its own security agencies and douse the tension in the polity. Leaving the whole narrative hanging in the air as it were is not the way to go in handling such a sensitive security issue as this. It is really unfortunate that it has been allowed to cause malice among different ethnic nationalities.
Human lives are involved in this matter and the way it has been handled is simply unconscionable. It reflects poorly on the government, showing the poor premium it places on the sanctity of life. Why has the government not made any official statement on this matter, allowing it to build up into inter-ethnic conflict? It is no-brainer that the reports on the killing have the potential to degenerate into opposition to the security agencies and the government if the incident is not carefully handled. We believe that the security agents would not deliberately bomb innocent Nigerians; something must have gone wrong that resulted in the unintended killing episode. If this is what happened, the government has a responsibility to come out with the facts, take the blame for the mistake, and take visible and public action to prevent a recurrence.
If, on the other hand, the security agencies are not involved in the incident, then the government should fish out the perpetrators and take them to court. It is important to quickly address this issue and not allow it to continue to fester and cause disaffection with the government and among groups in the country.
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