Hunger

,rape,
bet
ray
alt
alesr
ockBenuecommuni
ti
esaf
terat
tackbyher
dsmen

•Displ
acedwomenabandonhusbands,chil
dren,
seeksurv
ival
inot
hermen'sar
ms•Nati
ves
l
amentr apeofwives,
daught
ersbyher
ders•Anxi
etyascommissi
oner
'sbr
other
,cat
echi
st,
four
othersaremurder
ed

ByI
NNOCENTDURUonMar
ch5,
2022

Manymar ri
edwomeni nBenuecommuni ti
esat tackedbymur derousherdsmenar esai dtobe
exchangingt hei rdignityforfoodashungerr avagest hearea.Manyoft hem aresaidt ohave
abandonedt hei rhusbandsandchi ldrenforprivi
legedmenwhobai tthem withfoodandmoney .
Someot hers,itwasl earnt,ar
emar r
yingofftheirdaughterstoreducetheirburdensandmeetup
withtheirneeds.Mi ndlesski l
li
ngsoft hemenandi nabil
i
tyofthesurvivourstoculti
vatetheland
andcat erfort heirfami l
iesarebeli
evedt ober esponsibl
ef ort
heunseeml yacts,INNOCENT
DURUr epor ts.Deaf eningsoundsofgunshot shav ebeenr ever
berati
ngindi f
fer
entpar tsof
BenueSt atei nt helastf ourweeks.AsofWednesday ,nofewerthanfivemen, i
ncludinga
servi
ngcommi ssioner’
sbr other
,hadbeenki l
ledbygunmensuspect edt obeher der
s.

Threeofthev i
cti
mswer esaidt ohav ebeenki l
ledi nLogoLocal Gov ernmentAr ea.Logoi sthe
homet ownoff ormergov er
norGabr ielSuswan.Oneoft hevictims,abr othertoaser ving
commi ssioner,wassai dtohav ebeenmur deredi nAgatuareawhi lethel astpersonwas
report
edlykill
edi nGuma, wheret heincumbentgov er
nor,
Samuel Ortom, hailsf
rom.The
renewedat tacksweresaidtohav ehei ghtenedf earsamongt hepeople, scaredfarmersof fthei
r
farmsandcompoundedt hechal l
engeoff oodi nsecurit
yintheembat tledcommuni t
ies.“They
kil
ledthr
eepeopl elastmont h.Theyki l
ledoneCat holi
cChur chcatechi stwhowasanat i
veof
Guma.Hewast ravel
li
ngacrossLogobutunf ortunatel
ymethi sunti
mel ydeat hhere.

“Thesist
erofthecatechistismar r
iedhereinLogo.Theyal soki ll
edapr ovisiont r
adercall
ed
Chidi
.Theyabductedandmur deredhim, anddumpedhi minabush.Wear ey ettorecoverhi
s
corpse.“
Theytookhimt oav erydistantplaceinthef or
estandmur deredhi mt here.I
twas
Jukunwomenwhower et r
avelli
ngt hatsawhi m.“Itisdif
fi
cultforust oaccesst hatarea
becausetheherdersaretoomanyt here.Oursoldierswhower et herewer emov edout,andthat
gavetheherderstheoppor t
uni t
yt omov ein.“Thet hi
rdwasacommuni tyv olunteerguywho
wast r
avel
li
ng.Theymur deredhi m onhi swayi ncol dbl
ood,”ar esi
dentofLogowhogav ehis
namesi mplyasJerrysai
d.Anot hermemberoft hecommuni ty
, Terkur
a, saidhewasoneoft he
peopleseri
ousl
yaf f
ectedbyt hecr isi
s.
“Someofmyr elativ
eshav ebeenlosttotheherdsmen’satt
acks.Somehav elostt
heir
proper t
ies.Myf ather-
in-l
aw’shousewasr azedbyt heher
ders.“Ihadt orelocatemymot her-
in-
l
awt oanot herplace.Ont hatfatef
ulday,t
heykil
ledabout18peopl eandr azedsomehouses.
“Theher ders’ki
ndofwar f
areisthegueri
ll
astyl
e.Theyhitandretreat.Somet i
mest heywould
comeasear l
yas7: 30or8: 30intheeveni
ngandbef oreyouknowi t,theywoul ddoitandret
r eat
i
nt othebush. ”Apr omi nentmemberofOdugbehoar eainAgatu, Hon.Bawa, wasvisi
bly
disturbedashespokeaboutt heacti
vi
ti
esofmur derousherdsmeni nt hecommuni ty.

Hesai d:“Herdsmenhav er eturnedtoAgatuagai nandar etroublingus.Theyar edest r

oyingour
far
m pr oducts.Ithasbeenonf orclosetothr
eeweeks, ifnotmor e.“Theykill
edt hebrotherofa
servi
ngcommi ssi
onerinthenei ghbouri
ngcommuni ty.Theybur ntmyy am seedl i
ngsnumber ing
about2, 000.“Ihavedecidedt omov emostofmyt hi
ngst oOt ukpo.Ihav eevenr el
ocatedmy
chi
ldrent herebecauseoft hecr i
sis.Somanyot herpeopl ehav ealsorel
ocatedt heirchi
ldren.
”In
Guma, anativewhogav ehi snameasSamuel said:“
Oneper sonwaski ll
edlastweekbyt he
herders.Therear epal
pablef earsamongourpeopl eandwecanhar dlysleep.”

Womenabandonhusbands,
chi
l
dreni
nsear
chofsur
viv
al

InLogo, about40percentoft henat i

veswer esai
dt ohav ebeendi splacedwi t
hsomeoft hem
seeki ngr efugeininternallydi
splacedper sons’camps.Formor et hanf ivey ears,thebr ead
wi nnershav enothadt heoppor t
unityofgoi ngbackt otheirfarmsast heyar enogoar eaf or
them becauseoft hemenaceofki l
lerher dsmen.Acut ehungeranddepr ivati
onar esaidt ohave
becomet heor derofthedayf ormanyf ami l
ies.Terkurasaid: “
Nowourpeopl ehav er
unaway
andt akingshel t
erinplaceswher etheycan’ tev enfindapi eceofl andt ocul t
ivatewhatt hey
woul dsur v
iveon.“Theyar eli
vingonchar ity
.Mostofourpeopl ehav eresor tedt obeggi ng.The
wor stofi tisthat,youknow, women’ sr esistancetopov ertyisrare, compar edt omen.“ Some
per sonsar eev enent i
cingsomepeopl e’ swi veswithmoneyorf oodandev ent akingthem away
from t heirhusbands.Thati sthewor staspectofi t
.“Verylitt
lechildrenar ebei ngabandonedby
thesewomenbecauset heyaresufferingt oomuch.Thesi t
uationi ssobad.

“Logoi smadeupof10counci lwardsandt her eisnonet hati

snotaf f
ectedbyt hecr
isi
s.“Ther
e
areal waysone, twoormor eat tacksi neachar ea.Buttheseveri
tyismor einsomepar t
sof
Logot hanot her
s.”Regr ett
ingt hatt hepeopl ear enomor eatpeace,hesaid:“I
maginea
communi tyofmor ethan85, 000peopl edisplaced.“Ifyoulookattheareaunderat t
ack,iti
sa
l
ocat ionthathasFADAMAl andf orr i
cefar ms.I ti
sal ocati
onthatisveryfert
il
eforal
ltypesof
crops, cerealsort ubers.”
Hiscl aimswer ecor roboratedbyJerrywhodecr iedhowhungeri s
turningsomeoft hewoment oharlots.“Somemenl ureourwomen.Somepeopl eevengi v
eup
theirdaught ersinmar r
iagej usttosur vive.Iti
shappeni nghere.Somewomensubmi t
themselv
estomenj usttokeepbodyandsoul together
.Somemenmakemocker yofsomeof
thesewomen.Theywoul dsay‘Comecar ryunawifeo.Wedonf ….kthem t
ir
e.Iti
sasadt hi
ng.
“Almost40percentofthepopulat
ionofLogoi sdi
splaced.Thepeoplehavedesert
edtheir
homes.“Ther
ear et
woi nter
nal
lydi
splacedpersons’campsi nAyi
inandUgba.Someoft he
husbandsofthesewomenhav ebeenki l
ledbyherders.

“Someot herhusbandshavegoneoutt ohustletogetsomet hingt ogivetotheirwivesand

chil
dren.“Wheny oul
eavey ourwi
f eandchi l
drenwithoutanything,whatdoy outhinktheywi l
l
resortt
o?I si
tnotharl
otrytosustainthemselves?”Thepangsofhungerandf r
ust r
ati
onbr ought
aboutbyher ders’
att
acksarealsomaki ngli
feunbearableforEmmanuel ,anAgat ubasedf armer.
“Iti
snoteasyf orustofeedanymor e,
”hesai d.“AsIam tal
kingt oy ounow, Idon’thaveany thi
ng
athome.“ Itr
iedasmuchaspossi bl
et opacksomeofmyy amst oOtukpo.Iam j ustdivi
ded.I
don’tknowwhatt odo.“ShouldIgot oOt ukpoandst ayorshouldIst ayinOdughehoher e?Iam
j
ustcont emplati
ng.

“Thecostofl i
vinginOt ukpoistoohi gh.Icannotev encopewi t
hi tandIhav echildr
en.“Iam not
aloneinthis.Therear esomanyot herpeopl elikethatinthecommuni t
yher e.Thatiswhatwe
arefacing.“Ri
ghtnowasIam t alking,somepeopl earegoingtot hefarmt obringthesmal lyam
theyhav ebackhome, becauseiftheyleav etheyamsi nt hef
arm, theywillj
ustconsumet hem.
“Thesmal loney ouplant,theherderswi l
lusetheirswor dtodigintother i
dgeandr emov eit.
”
Herdersabduct ,rapewomen.Asi deat tacksonf armers,embattl
edr esidentsofLogol amented
thatherdershav ebeenabduct i
ngandr apingtheirwomenwhoar egoingaboutt heirl
egit
imat e
businesses.“Theher dersrapeourwomeneacht i
met heycatchthem int hecourseofgoi ngto
l
ookf orfood.Ther earemanycasesofsuch.

“Al adyr esistedaher derrecent l

y.Shewaswi t
hherf ri
end,andwhenshesucceededi nt aking
thecut lasst heher dsmenwer ewi el
ding,shegav ei ttoherf r
iendwhof earful
lyleftthecut l
ass
andr anaway .“Whiletheladywhor esist
edt heher derwast ryi
ngt or unaway ,theher derr an
afterherandhackedhert odeat h.Accordi ngtoJer ry,“
rapeisanot herev ilt
heyper petrate
becauset heydon’ thav ewi v
esher e.Thei ssueofr apei sveryrampant .“Someoft hesewomen
engagei nf i
shbusi ness.Theygot oriver
sandbr ingf i
shheret osell.Theseher dersst i
llgoand
blockt hem ont heway ,beatt hem andcol lectt
hei rmoney .Theyev enr apesomeoft hem.
“Thesehav ebeenhappeni ngev eryweek.Ther ear einstanceswher etheywoul dkidnapwomen
andkeept hem ther efortwot othreeday sandt heywoul devenr apet hem.“ Theydemanda
ransom ofN1mi l
l
ionandt heypaybef orer el
easingt hem.”Thehei nousact si nthev iewof
Terkuraar ethrivi
ngbecause“ ourv i
gil
antegr oupsar eincapacitated.Woul dt heyuseDaneguns
toconf rontpeopl ewi thsophi sti
catedweapons?“ Theher dersev ensomet imeschal lenget he
secur i
tymen.Theywi lltel
l t
hem t hat‘wewi llr
emov epartofourammuni t
ionandgi v eittoy ou
sothatyoucancomeandconfr
ontus’
.“I
fyoumeettheseher
ders,
theyar
eusi
ngAK47orot
her
hi
ghlysophi
sti
cat
edweapons,
andmostoft heweaponsar
ebrandnewones.
”

Adu, t
heAgat uf armer,saidtheyhav ebeendef encelessi nthef aceoft heattacksbecauset he
youthswhousedt oconfrontt heher der
si ntheircommuni tyhav ealmostbeenwi pedoutbyt he
gunmen.“ Ifyougot othefarmi nt hemor ning,before10am, youmustdowhat every ouwantt o
doandl eav e,becauseiftheycomeandmeety ouont hefar m alone,theywillj
ustkillyou.“When
thechil
drengot oschool,theywoul dreturnhomebef ore9am.Somet imesy ouprefert aki
ng
yourchil
drent of armthanl eavingt hem athomebecausey oudon’ tknowwhent heher derswi l
l
comeandat t
ackt hecommuni ty.”Hefurthersaid:“Whent hey(herders)gett oourfarms, t
hey
woulddigoutt hey amsfort heircows.Whenwepeel cassavaandkeept hem onthegr oundt o
dry,t
heywoul dcomeandconsumet hem.“ Manychi ldrendon’ tgot oschool agai
nf orfearof
beingattackedbyt heherders.Ev enaspar entswecan’ tsendourchi l
drent oschool becausewe
don’tknowwhent heywoul dcomeandat t
ackourcommuni t
y.

“Yester day(Wednesday ),Iwast oldthattheykil

ledonemanont hefarmi nacommuni t
yclose
toour s.Theyusedt heirswor dtoopent hestomachoft hefar merafterkil
li
nghim.“ Sincewe
havenobodyt osuppor tus, youcanbesur ethatinafewday sfr
om nowt heherderswi ll
come
backher etoterrori
seus. ”Nat i
vesblamepor ouscommuni tiesforattacks.Someoft he
respondent sbl
amedt hepor ousnat ureofthecommuni tiesf ort
heat tacks.“
Wehav epor ous
border s,andbecauseoft hat,t
her ei
snowaywecanr est.“Thegov ernmentwi llneedt otake
decisivemeasur esagai nsttheseher ders.I
fnothingurgenti sdone, nobodywi l
lbeabl etodo
anythingt hiscomingf ar mingseason.“ Thisisthetimepeopl estartcleari
ngfarmlands
preparat orytofarmingseason.Thati snotpossiblenow.Ev enthecassav athatisleftonthe
farmi sbei ngremov edbyt heher der
st ofeedtheircows.

“Wesur vi
vet hroughf arming,andi ftheseat tacksbyher der sar enotcont rol
led,therewoul dbe
nofoodnextseason, ”Jerr
ysai d.
Toputanendt othecr isis,hesai d: “
Wehav ehadsomany
meetingswi tht heher der
sbuti tallf
el l
ondeafear s.Youshoul dknowt hatarmsi ntoxicate.“I
f
youarenotsupposedt obeusi ngarmsandy ouarecarr yi
ngt hem, i
tintoxicates.Itmakesy ou
feely
oucandoany thingwiththel i
feofany body.Ify ouar enotawel l-
trai
nedper son, i
tcan
makey oumi sbehav e.”Onar egularbasi s,hesai d:“
Weseet hem i nourf armscar r
yingAK47.At
ti
mes, oursecur i
tymenwi llgoaf t
ert hem andt heher der swi llengaget hem inashoot out.I
meant hesol diersandnott helocalvigil
antegr oup.“Chil
dr eni nt her uralareashav eallmov edto
theurbancent res.Ther eisnosi ngleschool lef
tinourr ural areas.I fyoucannotaf for
dt ot ake
yourchil
drent oschool si
nur banset tl
ement s,t
hatwi l
lbet heendofi t.Theycan’ thaveaccess
toeducationagai n.
”Terkuraalsobemoanedt henatureoft het errain,say i
ng:“Thet err
ainisnot
good,butt heher dsmenknowi tverywel l.“
Ther eisar i
veri n-betweenourcommuni tyand
NasarawaSt at e.Theycr ossther i
verandcomet ooursi de.
“Atthebackoft heri
ver,t
her ei sathickforestandplacest heycanhi dewi thoutbeinglocated.It
i
sf rom t
her
et heycomeoutv eryearlyaround3am or4am andr unbacki ntothef or
est.“When
theybri
ngthear mytocur tail
t hem,theywoul deitherruntot heot hersideort hear mywoul d
refusetogofurtheri
ntothef or estt
ol ookforthem. ”
Mostoft heschool s,especiallypri
mary
schoolsint
hear ea,accordingt ohim, havecoll
apsedbecause“ youcan’ tgoneart hem.InAy ii
n,
thesecondbiggestprimaryschool iscurrentl
yinhabitedbyref ugees.Theher dersev enburnt
downsomeschool s.Chil
dr encannotgobackt otheseplaces.Chi ldrencannotev engot o
schoolonanempt ystomachbecauset heycan’tconcentrate, t
heycan’ tlearn.”

Impl i
cationsofat t
acks.Adonandsecur it
yexper t,
DrBal aHusai ni
, haswarnedthatt hel i
nger i
ng
crisiscouldhav ef arreachingi mpl icati
onsi nt helongr unifdr asticstepsarenott akent ocur tail
i
t.“ Theimpl i
cationoft hisi
st hatitwi ll
cont i
nuet ogener atehatredamongt hepeopl e.“Int he
areaofeconomy ,therewoul dbef oodi nsecur i
tybecausepeopl ewoul dnolongerbei nterested
i
nf arming.“Oncepeopl ear
enoti nterestedinf arming,therewoul dbeshortageoff ood.Thi s
alsohasabear ingont hedirectnat ureoft heeconomyoft hepeopl enotonlyintheNor thcentral
buti ntheNor thwest .”Thef ail
ureoft hecrisist oabat e,accordingt ohim,alsotell
st her estof
thewor ldt hatthegov ernmenti sincapabl eofaddr essingt hechal lengesofinsecurit
yi nt he
count ry
, “t
herebycausi ngthei nf
luxofnewmet hods,newdi mensi onsandnewsegment sof
othercr iminalgr oupscomi ngi ntot akecont rol ofcertai
nar eas.

“Thiscri
sisdisplacespeopl efr
om t heirori
ginalhomelandst ootherhostcommuni t
ies.When
theymov et othosecommuni ti
es,thehostmaynotacceptt hem 100percent .I ftheyr eside
thereforthenext10t o20y ears,t
hei ssueofi ndi
gene/settl
erhegemonywi l
lcropup. ”For
peoplethatarebei ngdisplaceddai l
yandt hereisnomeasur etorehabili
tat
ethem, hesai d:
“Therewi l
lbeat imewhent heywillalsoturnoutt obelikethecriminalswhochasedt hem outof
thei
roriginall
and.Thesear esomeoft heissues.”Hewentont osayt hatwhatishappeni ngi n
Benuecoul dbecat egorisedont hreemaj orissues.“Onei spoli
ti
cs.Thesecondi s
farmers’/
herders’clash.Thet hir
di stheinfluxofbandits,whichismor eorlessofBokoHar am.
“Withregardtopol i
tics,
Benuehadsomei ssuesbeforet hefarmers/herder
sclash.Hi storicall
y,
theywer epeoplewhohadnev erenjoy edany t
hingyoucancal ldiv
idendofdemocr acy .

“Forthem t
osur vi
ve,poli
ti
cianswanti nsecurit
yasanexcuset otell t
herestoft hewor ldthat
theyaredoingwhatt heyar edoingtoj usti
fythemoneyt hatthest ateisgetting.“Naturall
ywhen
thereisanythi
ngthatisdisturbi
ngpeopl e,thei
ratt
entionwill
bedi v ert
edtot hatthingthatis
dist
urbingthem.Issuesofsal ar
ies,
issuesofent i
tl
ementar elesscompar edt ot heinsecurit
y
thatishappeninginthatarea.“Someoft hepoli
ti
ciansareidenti
fiedwi ththesecr i
mi nals,
li
ke
Gana.Ev
erybodyknowsthathewasont i
meaverypowerfulsomebodyandwasdoinghi
s
t
hingswit
hthegovernmentofBenueStat
eandsomeout si
dersfr
om theFul
ani
clanandthe
Hausacl
an.Theywer et
heonescontrol
li
ngt
heNorthcentr
al.”

“Thent heotherissueisr epri

sal
.Youcan’thitaher derandaskhi mtoj ustsayby e-by e.Their
three,four,f
ivegenerationsmayl i
kelyrevenge.Agai nthereisthisbeliefoft heherder sthatfor
theircowst oprosper,itmusteatwhatdoesnotbel ongt oit.Thisisanot heraspectf uel
ingthe
cri
sisint heNorthcentral.
”Negli
genceofthel awt ot akeitscourse,headded, i
sanot her
challenge.“I
tisnotonl ytheherdersthatarehav ingt hisproblem buttheTi v,theothert ri
be
cont r
oll
ingthestateincludinggovernmentof fi
cialst hatarefuell
i
ngt hesei ssues.“LikeIsai d
earli
er,herdersdon’tforgive.I
fyoudot hem good, theywillmakesur et hatgoodr emai nsforthe
nextgener ati
onstocome, andifyoudobadt othem, i
twil
l al
soremai nf orgenerationst ocome.

“Thegov ernmentshoul dhav eadopt edt hestrategytheyareusingint heNor theastagai

nstBoko
Haram. ”Wehav eov er1.
5mi ll
ionIDPS–BenueSt at
eCommi ssioner.BenueSt ate
Commi ssi
onerforInf or
mation, MrMi chael I
nalegwuUmor u,sayst hef armerkil
ledinAgatuwas
hiselderbrother,
regr et
ti
ngt hattheher ders’att
ackshasl eftt
hest atewi thover1.5mill
ion
displacedpeople.“Itwasmybr otherthatwaski ll
edbyher der
sinAgat u.Theymethi minthe
farm andshothi m dead.Thatwasaboutt hreeweeksago.Wehav eov er1.5mi ll
i
onpeoplein
theIDPcamps.I t
’ssomet hingt hatthest at
egov ernmenthasbeenbat tl
ingtotakecareofthem.
Thef ederalgovernmenti snotdoi ngany thi
ngt oassistbecauseoft her el
ati
onshipbetweenthe
stateandt hefederal.”

Asatt hetimeofspeaki ngwi thourcor respondent,thehonour ablecommi ssionersai dAgat u

waspeacef ul.“Ihaveconf irmedf rom Agat uthatther ewasnot hingl iket hat.Theonl yi
ncident
i
nAgat uwast hatsomegr oupsofboy swentandst olesomecowsandl ivestoker s
apprehendedt hem wi ththeirkekeNapep.Theyar eatt hepoli
cest ationi nObagaj inow.The
onlyplacethatwasat tackedwasapl acei nApa.Theher dersbut cher edaf ar mert odeaththere.
“Meanwhi l
esol dier
shav et akenov erthepl aceandt heyar edoingcl ear anceoper ati
onsthere
now.Thewest ernpar tofAgat uwast akenov erbycowst hisafternoon.Mycont actinLogohas
notconf i
rmedwhet hertherewasanat tack.TheAt tacki nLogowasaboutf ourday sago.We
haveaskedt her eshouldbeanot heruni tofOper at
ionWi l
dStroket oav i
ll
age, Ay i
in,sothat
theywillworkinsy nergywi ththeonesongr oundbef ore.Thatist hear r
angementt he
governmenthasmadenow.“ Effor
tstospeakwi thleader softheher der swer eunsuccessf ul.
Thef ormerspokesper son, GarusGal olo,saidhehadl eftt
hestat e.Hepr omi sedt osend
contactsoftheper sonaut horizedt ospeakf orthem butwasy ett odosoasatt het i
meoff il
ing
thi
srepor t
.