Boko Haram kill 69 in Katsina

At least 69 people have been killed in simultenous  attacks  on four  villages in Katsina State.

Witnesses said the attackers, believed to be Fulani herdsmen, rode motorcycles into the  villages – Mararaban Maigoro, Goran Mota and Ungwan Rimi – in broad daylight on Wednesday and killed whoever they found.

A lawmaker  from the state, Abdullahi  Machika,  told both the Agence France Presse and the British Broadcasting Corporation that 47 of the victims were murdered and buried in Mararraban Maigoro.

Machika added that seven were buried in  Goran Mota, seven in Ungwan Rimi and eight  in Maigoro.

Machika    said,  “As I speak,  we are still searching for dead bodies in the bushes. The attackers were  not thieves but   killers. They did not steal anything; they came to  kill  people. The  people, who looked like Fulani herdsmen   killed 69 villagers and burnt scores of houses between Tuesday and Wednesday.

“This (Thursday) morning, we picked dead bodies in Faskari forest.  In  Mararaban Maigoro, we buried 47 people. In Goran Mota, we buried seven people and  in  Ungwan Rimi,  we buried seven people. And in Maigoro, we buried eight people.  Like I told you,  we are still searching for more bodies.

“For over one year, we  have been  talking;  people are saying it is about stealing and I am telling you it is pure killing . It is almost the same thing that started in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. There was  no response from the police authorities as they were busy providing for  President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit.”

But the  state’s Police Commissioner, Hurdi Mohammed,  who also confirmed the attacks, gave a lower casualty  toll of 30.

He also said  the violence was  not perpetrated by Boko Haram insurgents but by   Fulani herdsmen, who had  been blamed for scores of deadly raids in the past.

The latest  incident  took place barely  24 hours  after  Fulani cattle rustlers  attacked the convoy of the Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, in Tse-Akenyi.

Suswam  was on  a fact-finding mission following the continuous invasion of  many communities on the  Daudu-Gbajimba road by  herdsmen.

Fulani leaders have for years complained about the loss of grazing land which is crucial to their livelihood, with resentment between the herdsmen and their agrarian neighbours rising over the past decade.

Most of the Fulani-linked violence has been concentrated in the   North-Central, where rivalries between mostly Muslim herdsmen and mostly Christian farmers have helped fuel  violence.

• Jonathan gives military marching order

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday ordered the military high command to deploy troops in Rugu Forest  with a view to dislodging  the killers.

He said a situation where insurgents had turned the forest which was  initially meant for economic purposes, to their hideouts  was not  acceptable to his government.

Jonathan gave the order during  a dinner organised in his honour by the state government as part of activities outlined for his two-day official visit to the state.

He said men of the Nigerian Armed Forces must comb the forest thoroughly and rid it of insurgents.

According to him, the forest borders states like Katsina, Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna and the neighbouring Niger Republic.

The President said, “It is unfortunate that the forest meant for economic purposes has been turned to a hideout and haven for insurgents who are launching attacks on Katsina and other Northern states. This situation must not be allowed to continue. So men of the armed forces must comb the forest and dislodge the insurgents.”

Jonathan also directed the National Emergency Management Agency to ensure swift provision of relief materials for victims in the affected communities.