Joseph Bakare
The Nasarawa State Police Command, has confirmed the death of three policemen after an attack by suspected herdsmen at Maraban-Udege village in the Nasarawa Local Government Area of the state.
The Public Relations Officer of the command, ASP. Samaila Usman, said in Lafia that the three policemen were ambushed and killed on June 3 on their way to quell a crisis between Agatu farmers and Fulani herdsmen.
Usman said, however, that the command had mobilised a reinforcement team, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police to fish out the killers of the policemen.
He said the corpses of the policemen, an inspector, a sergeant and a corporal had been recovered and deposited at a morgue.
The spokesman did not disclose the names of the dead policemen.
Nasarawa State and the neighbouring Benue, described as the food basket of the nation, have witnessed recurring deadly attacks by herdsmen.
The development has raised concerns that Nigerians may contend with hunger in the near future because of the inability of farmers to cultivate their farms, due to incessant attacks by herdsmen.
Meanwhile, Governor Umaru Al-Makura had commiserated with the police over the latest killings.
He stressed the need for residents in the state to bury their differences and work for peace and harmonious co-existence.
Al-Makura also tasked leaders of Egbura and Bassa ethnic groups to end the crisis between the two groups in the Toto Local Government Area of the state, which according to him, has left scores of people dead and many communities destroyed.
Also, the paramount ruler of Agatu chiefdom, Alhaji Ahmed Kwanaki, said that about eight farmers were killed by the same Fulani herdsmen.
He gave the names of those killed as: Sale Ozala, Oyigoso Sale, Danladi Joko, Abdulahi Musa, Adamu Haruna, Musa Adamu, Yakubu Sale, and Shehu Sabo (a Bassa man).
The traditional chief, who was visibly angry, said the killings in his chiefdom continues unabated, and appealed to the state and federal governments to, as a matter of urgency, deploy the military to the area.
He confirmed that the security operatives earlier detailed to the troubled area were overpowered by the Fulani herdsmen, preventing them from accessing the interior where killings are rife.
State chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria Hussain Mohammed said that the Agatu people first killed some Fulani people before the Fulani retaliated.
He, however, condemned the killings of the three police officers, promising to help in identifying the perpetrators of the murders.