Tom Garba
A group under the auspices of Pene Da Bwatiye International Association has cried bitterly on how Fulani Militia mercilessly murdered over 2,500 of its People in a cold blooded attack on Kodumon an Adamawa Community in Demsa Local Government of Adamawa State.
At a press conference held at Yale, today, the group indicted the Adamawa State Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Ghazali, accusing him of being lackadaisical and displaying an obdurate attitude to the ravaged community, as well as not taking any swift action to halt the disgruntled attacks.
The leader of the group, Prince Hezron Fada who signed the statement described killings as a wanton murder of revered Men and Woman, Youths and innocent children of Bwatiye Nationality.
“It is with a heavy heart, that We are drawing attention over the massive destruction of the rural town of Kodomun in Demsa Local Government of Adamawa State and the brutal cold blooded murder of twenty five (25) persons comprising of our revered elders, young and middle aged men, women and children. As we address you today, the entire population of about 2,500 inhabitants is now homeless and scattered in towns and villages as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs),” he said.
According to him, from January to July this year, similar mass killings took place in the Bwatiye villages of Koh, Goron, Ndikajam, Tabongo, No-Ine Fawaire and Jimoh in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State were seventy two (72) deaths were recorded including the killing of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Vunoklang in the suburb of the Jimeta metropolis. These killings were perpetrated by suspected Fulani Herdsmen and their hired mercenaries. Up to this time, no one, to the best of our knowledge has been questioned or sanctioned by the authorities over the incidence and no compensation has been made to the victims.
Speaking further he said; “As painful as the destruction and looting of property and the brutal killings of our defenseless people and the removal of some vital parts of their bodies for ritual purposes have been, we have managed with difficulty, to implore our communities to refrain from taking the law into their own hands. While we continue to look up to the State Government for justice and protection, unfortunately, the government has failed in this regard. We find this failure of government unacceptable, as it is equally becoming more challenging to restrain our people from rising up to their own self-defense by every possible means against armed Fulani herdsmen that are using assault rifles and hard core military weapons, as seen in places like didi in Koh, Ndikajam, No-Ine, Tabongo Goron, Fawaire and Jimoh in Girei Local Government Area.”
“The impunity of these invaders will not stop unless the government ceases to treat them with kid gloves. We are gratified that the president of the Federal republic of Nigeria, President Muhamamdu Buhari has at last directed the security agents to disarm them. However, we wait to see what will happen, for with the likes of Commissioner of Police of Adamawa State as law enforcement officers, we will be faced with either inaction or complicity. You will recall that this Commissioner of Police on Tuesday 2nd August, 2016 said no life was lost in the invasion on Kodomun and that he did not allow his men to intervene in the attack because according to the Commissioner of Police, that was a Communal clash and to do so, would appear to be taking sides. We feel that this man is not fit for the Command. He should be removed immediately by the Inspector General of Police,” he added.
