Social Media Activist Ukan Kurugh's First Hand Account Of HisExperience In Agatu During David Mark's Media Inspection Of FulaniInvasion In The Area.

" MEDIA INSPECTION OF FULANI INVASION ON AGATU LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

By: Ukan Kurugh.

Friday 11th March, 2016 is a day not to be forgotten in a hurry in my life as a social media activist/writer. I was confronted with the truest picture of a suffering people. A call from the Media Aide to Sen. David Mark saw several journalists and media experts in transit to evaluate the damage done to Agatu LGA by purpoted Fulani herdsmen. No doubt take off time was 7:48am.

It is no longer news that Benue State in recent times has come under severe attacks from purpoted Fulani herdsmen, which has led to wanton lost of lives and destruction of properties. The current areas under attack include; Logo, Buruku, Katsina-ala, Tarka and Agatu. I had earlier published online the situational report of the damage done to Logo LG.read more

The inspection exercise was critically done as we penetrated the nooks and crannies of Agatu. I therefore pen this report from first hand information and state without any iota of truth equivocation that; the destruction done to Agatu is the worst in recent times and can only be considered a replica of the Zaki-Biam massacre of 2001.

The inspecting team departed Agatu in tears, taking to heart the inhuman and degrading treatment metted out to fellow human beings. Those who have read the story on pages of newspapers may not comprehend in totality the detrimentality it has left on Agatu people. As I write, houses standing in Agatu are few and countable as everything has been razed to the ground.

A drone sent into space within the Agatu land mass captured clearly, the spate of the destruction done which range across; dead bodies lithered around, overgrazed and destroyed farms and farmlands, burnt houses and barns. Most people have fled Agatu land and are taking shelter in Apa LG, a sister and nearby LG.

Needful to note that, these heavily armed Fulani men are still on the land grazing freely and destroying anything in their path. This points a scenario of worrisome signals that infact the attacks from the purpoted herdsmen may only have begun and would soon shift to other areas within the state. An attempt was even made by the herdsmen on our convoy misunderstanding us to have come to combat them. The presence of security personnel on the convoy wade them off.

Regretably, the army men on ground are very few in number and even hard to be seen and have even revealed to us that they were not given specific orders on what to do when we questioned the strategy of their rescue mission.

The Agatu massacre is far more than a mere attack of Fulani herdsmen. It is infact a systematic approach to extinguishing the population of the middle-belt. I am absent choice to conclude that, with the Fulani men still around and armed to the teeth with sophisticated weapons, strings are been pulled from somewhere. Some persons with greater authority are behind what is goin on. Their intention is either politically inclined or religiously motivated.

I therefore question in totality and openly disagree with the position of IG of Police, who posited that the death casualty of 300 and IDP figure of 7000 was exagerated. I charge him to henceforth give a clear figure if he so claims to know and how he arrived at it. It is not enough for him to allege that the figure is exaggerated and then not give what he considers the true figure. I pen down here that the figure is even less as we even saw dead bodies in places that may not have been recorded.

The Federal Government should know that the situation has gone beyond the fornation of investigation committees, lives are being lost and the possibility of further losses is so potent. This is genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Some of the areas we visited include;.

Aila, Akwu, Adagbo, Okokolo, Ugboju, Odugbeho, Ogbaulu, Egba and the LG Headquarters, Obagaji.

Mr. Tony Ameh narrated his ordeal that he was the only survivor from his family as every other person had been murdered. He expressed disappointment that government had not guaranteed security of their lives and properties.

Special thanks to Former Senate President and Senator representing Benue South, Sen. David Mark, who triggered and sponsored the tour with a view to sponsoring a bill at the national assembly to alleviate the sufferings of his people. He promised them that he would return for a "thank you" tour to appreciate them for voting and re-voting him during the rerun, even in the face of hard times.

The inspection team arrived Otukpo 11:13pm."

#MAFO!

#BoycottBeef! 

#YesWeCan!