Benue: Day of killings, arson in Ugba

Ugba, headquarters of Logo Local Government Area,witnessed a whole day of this violent part of Benue politics, with extra days of tension sending many fleeing their homes. The media have reported many people killed in a violent reprisal that trailed the gruesome murder of a popular transporter and money lender, Celestine Agber, who also held […]

Ugba, headquarters of Logo Local Government Area,witnessed a whole day of this violent part of Benue politics, with extra days of tension sending many fleeing their homes. The media have reported many people killed in a violent reprisal that trailed the gruesome murder of a popular transporter and money lender, Celestine Agber, who also held sway as a local chieftain of the opposition ACN.

Logo is home of Governor Gabriel Suswam of the PDP andACN governorship candidate Professor Steve Ugbah. Suswam won the April 26 governorship poll, but Ugbah alleged Suswam rigged his way into Government House, petitioning the tribunal, praying that he should be declared winner. Trial is still ongoing.

Reports said the murdered politician who went by the popular name of AgberNack, was killed alongside a male relative of his, who was there on a visit. The yet to be identified killers were reported to have stormed the residence, gunning him down in his apartment, and leaving without a trace.The incident happened at about 3am, Monday, October 17, at his residence, a stone’s throw from the police station.

By daybreak when news of the murder broke, Ugbatown was gripped by a spontaneous riot by dozens of youths who went after selected homes of PDP top shots in the area. The rioters burnt the residences of two former state lawmakers – James Iwar and TerkaaMamwoo—and two houses belonging to the state coordinator of the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NEPAD), Mr. Donald Kertyo.

They also went after the palace of TyoorMbayam (third class traditional ruler), ZakiTernguIorhuna, and set it ablaze. Reports say not less than four members of the palace were clubbed to death. Weekly Trust inquiries revealed that a pregnant woman, said to be wife to the chief’s brother, was also clubbed to death in the palace.

The skirmishes lasted for hours, with persons alleged to be members of a militia group storming in to challenge the rioters. “There were attacks and counter attacks. People regrouped and came out for attacks. Virtually all parts of Ugba were affected and people were running from different directions, leaving their homes”, awitness told Weekly Trust.

But the police did not make any arrests on that day, according to the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) ASP AlaribeEjike, who was quoted in media reports.

Governor Suswam, who was returning from a funeral in a neigbouringvillage, stopped for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation, during which he announced that a reinforcement of armed policemen and soldiers was on its way. He condemned the violence which he blamed on ACN supporters.

He urged supporters of the PDP not to be provoked.

But the opposition ACN blamed the PDP, saying the ruling party masterminded the violence. Senator George Akume, the Senate minority leader, was quoted in a statement signed by his media aide, Mrs. BeckieOrpine, to have said the violence further exposed the PDP as being intolerance of opposition.

“The police and law enforcement agencies must dig into the cause of this crisis with a view to bringthe perpetrators to book”, the statement said. He also called on supporters of the party not to be provoked into taking the laws into their own hands by way of retaliation.

This is just as the state ACN chairman, Abba Yaro, was quoted to have said the ruling party manifested intimidation preventing the opposition from claiming its mandate at the election petition tribunal. He sought the protection of ACN members by security agencies.

Weekly Trust gathered that a chain of events preceded the murder of the ACN chieftain, and the mayhem that followed. His widow Joyce Doo Agber could not be reached because she was said to have fled the area, but some business associates of the deceased said Agber Nack had faced series of threats to his life in recent weeks.

A tipper on the fleet of his vehicles was said to have been set ablaze. “A complaint was lodged at the police station, but those he suspected are all walking the street. No arrests were made,” said one associate. The other said the deceased suspected strange movements around him, and had written the police and the State Security Service (SSS), and had followed up, putting pressure on the security agencies for them to make arrests. “But nothing happened,” the associate said.

Agber Nack was said to be popular among supporters of ACN. There are evidences including pictorials showing he wore the toga of a chief among his people. Some said he gave himself the second class title of Ter, claiming rulership over the people, and had crowned certain supporters to rule over their localities as second class chiefs. He had beads and crowns made of ACN colours, with which he adorned his neck and head, and received homage from party supporters, a drama which was said to have severally embarrassed the traditional institution there.

The murder of AgberNack and the arson that followed, displaced many and heightened tension in the area, although armed policemen and soldiers were later deployed there from nearby towns and Makurdi, the state capital.

The drive to Ugbafrom the bank of Katsina-Ala River brought this reporter face to face with displaced residents who have continued to flee the town in droves, days after the mayhem. Their account of life in Ugba was that of fears of fresh attacks. Titus Ambango and his wife, Dooyom, were seen with luggage, trekking to Gbanyan, a village about three kilometers from Ugba. The middle aged man pushed a bag of flour in a wheel barrow, while his wife tagged behind with a black box with clothes and some personal effects on her head, all sweating as they climbed one hill to the other, to leave Ugba behind them.

“Yesterday (Wednesday), we took our children out and handed them to a neighbor who was leaving for his village. Today, we had to also leave. We will stop at Gbanyam, and observe things first,” the displaced person said. He recalled the past three nights in Ugba, saying “we did not sleep; tension is high for a possible fresh attack because people keep moving from point to point at night, causing trouble and the police and soldiers are still there.” He spoke in Tiv, saying he resides in the Tank area of Ugba where he owns and operates a grinding engine.

A little into the town, the reality was obvious–that Ugba, once a bubbling commercial centre, is now a ghost of its former self. The schools along the road looked like they are observing summer break, just as houses which are obviously homes to large families, are deserted. Livestock especially pigs and goats are now in charge; and they were spotted roaming direct into places the residents would not have tolerated, if they were not displaced.

A few shops at few locations of the town were open, but the owners had no buyers to attend to. The major road which links various towns and villages to the big crops market looked like it provided the way to a cemetery. It was quiet. A few vehicles were spotted at few locations along the road, but they are trucks conveying luggage of displaced persons.

Armed policemen were spotted at a major road block in front of the market, but they had no much duty to perform. Their station was the only place where Weekly Trust could count a number of persons – and they were policemen in uniform, and a few plain clothed persons.

Weekly Trust drove round the market, stopping at certain locations to speak to persons who dared to open and tend their businesses. A vulcanizer sat quietly on a condemned tyre he used to support his old pumping machine.

Behind him, at some distance, a man and his wife had just completed loading their luggage in a waiting truck, while the impatient driver was warning against further delay. They all refused to listen to Weekly Trust. IgbadooMyuega, as the vulcanizer gave his name, said he was contemplating leaving too. “All my neighbours have left. Today, it is obvious I will be the only one in the compound to sleep there,” he said, pointing at the same house where the truck was leaving with luggage. He said Thursday was the first time he was out for his business since the Monday mayhem. “Not a single soul came here to patch tyre,” he said, recalling that there were days he made up to N1,500. “Today, not even a dime did I make,” he said.

At another street beside the market, Dickson Ukoor, a commercial motorcycle operator sat alone on his bike, which he parked at what used to be a major location for his business. “It is obvious that more people are leaving. I am going to leave too,” he said.

Men were mostly the people seen around Ugba, but normal life was not observed there. A few women were spotted, but they were at the police station. One, who gave her name only as Doofan, ran into a major street and made quick purchase of palm oil and two eggs, and dashed back. She refused to speak.

Women, who remained at the earlier time, were said to have faced molestation from unidentified thugs who go about at night, looting. Cases of rape were recorded, according to displaced persons. But the women were said to have restrained themselves from making reports after one of them tried to do so without success. “She was asked by the police to prove that she was raped,” one displaced person said.

At the All Saints’ Queens Secondary School, a girls’ school along Burukuroad, only the chief security officer, Joseph Iyanna, was there. “The vice principal is the only teacher available, but you can’t see him now. We closed the school. We will only resume only when it is clear that there is no trouble. For now, everybody is stiff scared,” he said in Tiv.

Meanwhile,Weekly Trust learnt that although the police did not make arrests on the day of the violence, they launched a mass arrest on Wednesday, which was a market day. On that day, many people who came to the marketended up in police net as suspects. A tailor, whose name was given as TerfaAdema, is believed to have been arrested by the police while he was heading to his shop.

The deceased business partner, John Wash, told Weekly Trust that he had to run and leave town because the police, in company of persons he suspected as thugs, were looking for him to pick him up for detention. “They have arrested over 40 persons, and all are members of the ACN, and friends of AgberNack,” he alleged.

State police command spokesman AlaribeEjike confirmed “some arrests have been made”, but insisted that “I cannot give the precise number now. I cannot confirm how many for now.” He said the arrests were made because “the police is digging deep into what led to the killing of AgberNack.” But he denied that the persons arrested are members of the ACN, saying “politicians are the ones saying these things.”