Military Air Raid Kills 38 Herders In Nasarawa

An alleged military Air raid on a border community between Nasarawa and Benue States has killed at least 38 Fulani herders.

The air raid was launched at Rukubi community of Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, reportedly by military operatives.

Witnesses said the herders were killed while returning from Makurdi, the Benue State capital, where they went to retrieve over 1,000 cows seized by the Benue Livestock Guards.

The herders retrieved the cattle from the Benue officials after the payment of N29 million fines, but only to be tracked and killed while offloading the livestock in their destination in Nasarawa State.

There was palpable tension after the herders murder on Tuesday night in Benue and Nasarawa states.

The police spokesperson in Nasarawa state, Ramhan Nansel, said on Wednesday, the command was working in collaboration with sister security agencies and the state government to unravel the circumstances that led to the bombing, and arrest the perpetrators of the dastardly act.

He said, “It is unfortunate that such a thing happened. Twenty-seven of the herdsmen were killed after a bomb exploded in Doma LGA. The police and other security agencies are working round the clock to understand what led to the attack and track down those involved in the act.”

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, had vowed to ensure that those behind the killing of the herdsmen are apprehended and made to face the law.

Sule said, “On behalf of the state government, I want to sympathise with the Fulani people across the state over the killings of their people by an unknown bomber. I want to assure them of the state government’s commitment to unravel the perpetrators of such act so as to face the full wrath of the law.”

Chairman of Doma LGA, Ahmed Sarki-Usman, who condemned the attack in its entirety, said, “It must be the activity of some bad elements in the area. The act is capable of causing unrest in the LGA but I particularly want to thank the Fulani people for being calm and allowing the government and security agencies to handle the issue. I assure them that we will get to the root of the matter.

The State Chairman, Miyetti Allah Kautal Horai, Ardo Lawal Dano, who spoke to our correspondent on the incident, expressed shock over the bombing that killed his kinsmen.

He appealed to the federal and state governments to come to their aid in order to arrest those involved in the act, calm the situation, and restore normalcy in the area.

“The Fulani people are law-abiding citizens. We don’t like trouble, so let the government address the situation because we are really pained losing our loved ones.”