23rd February, 2024
By Richard Elesho
Bandits have formed a parallel government in parts of Kogi State, collecting taxes from traumatised and hapless farmers and fishermen.
This was disclosed by the apex diaspora Igala social-cultural group, the Uk’Omu Igala Organization in a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to President Bola Tinubu over persistent attacks from bandits and herders in Dekina and Omala Local Government areas of Kogi State.
In a statement signed by its National Leader, Elder David Abutu, and National Director of Mobilization, Suleiman Akpa, the group begged Tinubu to check the murderous and destructive activities of strange Fulani herders in Igala land.
The statement added that the onslaught by bandits, who invaded the communities as herders, had killed farmers and destroyed farmlands and villages.
“In the last one month, bandits who invaded our villages in the name of herding, have attacked peaceful farmers, killed several persons, destroyed villages, and rendered thousands of people homeless in Omala and Dekina Local Government Areas of Kogi State.
“Our people have no weapons to fight these stranger Fulani groups who are armed to the teeth. They are lawless and brutal. They have made Igalaland hell on earth for many peasant farmers whose only means of livelihood is farming.
“Apart from murdering our people and destroying their farms, the bandits have formed a parallel government in Kogi State, collecting taxes from farmers and fishermen before allowing them to access their lands and ponds for fishing.
“They have made Igalaland hell on earth for many peasant farmers whose only means of livelihood is farming
“This is totally unacceptable. Our people have surrendered their security to the Federal Government of Nigeria; they deserve to be protected from criminals. We call on the Federal Government to urgently send in security forces to sack these strange killer-herders from Omala and Dekina Local Government Areas.
“The Kogi State Government has not lifted a finger to help the traumatized people of Omala and Dekina LGAs, auspiciously as a hangover from the 2023 governorship elections. Instead of wading into the crisis and protecting the people, we understand Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo has asked the Chairman of Omala Local Government to sign an agreement with the killers,” the statement read.
Uk’Omu Igala noted that the Kogi State Government has not lifted a finger to help traumatized people of Omala and Dekina LGAs.
“The people have protested against this deceptive and misleading agreement as a ploy to sacrifice the people of Kogi East because they voted massively for the major opponent of the governor in the November 11, 2023 elections. No government hands its people to killers, but that is what Kogi State Government has done.
“The people of Kogi East have rejected the deadly agreement with the killers, which invariably subjugates the people to the killer-herders. These bandits are truce-breakers; they have never kept any agreement in Nigeria. We, as an organization, reject any agreement with those who kill our peace-loving people because there are no security agencies to protect our people from the heavily armed marauding Fulani herders.
“We, therefore, call on President Tinubu to send in the military to chase away the killers who have found the peace-loving people of Kogi East as easy prey. The Kogi State Government is not doing anything to help the people. The president should prevail on Governor Ododo to visit the displaced people and provide shelter and succour for them urgently.”