News Despite fainting, judge remands ex-power minister in Kuje prison byKayode Sanni-ArewaJuly 11, 2024
News Edo Govt Approves New Governing Council For Ambrose Alli University byKayode Sanni-ArewaJuly 11, 2024
News Govs Makes U-turn Over Supreme Court Ruling On LG Autonomy, Reveals Next Action byAdminJuly 12, 2024
 ($66) to allow us to return home and farm. For example, farmers in Gidan-Pepa contributed N40,00 ($27), Achukpa contributed N30,000 ($19), and Ibete also paid N30,000 ($19) to meet the demand. We paid the Jihadist representatives, Geri and Nura, sent from Rukubi Precinct in Nasarawa State.
Odeh Obeya, a rice farmer in Agatu County, gave his tally of extortions: “Before the rains, they threatened to kill anyone who returned to previously attacked villages. They warned us against farming until we reached an agreement. They demanded N100,000 ($66) from Ikpele and surrounding villages before we could return to our farms and settlements. With eight villages, that’s N800,000, ($528).
“Since many farmers and villagers can’t pay, we won’t farm this year, leading to famine in Benue and Nigeria,” he said.
“What’s happening in Agatu is Fulani ethnic militia land-grabbing. They’ve sacked communities and continue attacking villages.”
Mr Ojotu Ojema, the lawmaker representing Apa/Agatu Federal Constituency at the National Assembly in Abuja, in an exclusive interview with Truthnigeria.
“They know that by attacking, villagers will flee, and terrorists will settle in their lands,” Ojema added. “Apart from deaths and destruction, the atrocities will cause hunger as rural farmers are displaced and can’t access their farms,” Ojema added.
The lawmaker also conceded that the Nigerian military is standing down from engaging the attackers. “We have Nigerian Army personnel in Agatu, but that doesn’t stop the terrorists. The Army prioritizes what they call peacekeeping over confronting the Fulanis, who are terrorising our people,” Ojema went on to say. “The Nigerian Miltary views the killings as communal clashes between Fulanis and Agatus,” he said.
“According to the Army, the Fulanis are seen as indigenous to Agatu, and so what is happening is a communal clash; however, I can tell you authoritatively, we don’t have indigenous Fulanis in Agatu or the State of Benue,” Ojema further explained.
“These are foreign terrorists bent on taking over our lands. It is purely the same thing that is happening in Jos, Plateau State, that is happening here,” Ojema said.
</p><div class='code-block code-block-2' style='margin: 8px auto; text-align: center; display: block; clear: both;'>
<div style=){kind=spacer}
