Hoodlums terrorise Kunyami, Dangba residents

Hoodlums have launched consistent attacks on Kunyami and Dangba villages, leaving the communities in panic.  The communities, living about one and a half kilometres apart on the Old Karmo road which links Idu to Airport road at Gosa Toge, have suffered series of security challenges in recent times, according to residents. The residents of Kunyami […]

Hoodlums have launched consistent attacks on Kunyami and Dangba villages, leaving the communities in panic. 

The communities, living about one and a half kilometres apart on the Old Karmo road which links Idu to Airport road at Gosa Toge, have suffered series of security challenges in recent times, according to residents.

The residents of Kunyami told our reporters that they are subjected to security threats on a frequent basis.

The chief of Kunyami, Silas Ogwe, was not available but Aso Chronicle team tracked Mr  Iliya V Luka, the chief’s brother.

When asked about the state of security in the area, he said “we have security but thief dey disturb us well well.”

He said they have had several break-ins by thieves in the area but the worst occurred in August 2017.

He narrated how heavily armed robbers invaded the community around 2:00:a.m. and operated for over an hour during which they shot and killed a Tiv man named Sughter  Agwaza. He said Agwaza died while trying to offer help to his neighbours whose house had been invaded by the robbers and were shouting for help.

A relative of the late Agwaza, David Adidi, said they were horrified by the incident adding that since then they have not been able to sleep with their two eyes closed.

He also said there are incidents of motorcycle snatching around the villages. 

Our reporters also gathered that the hoodlums injured two Hausa boys that same night. 

The residents complained that the police at Iddo division were called but that they arrived two hours after the robbers had left. 

Aso Chronicle was able to locate Abubakar Nura, one of the boys that were attacked.

Nura who owns a provision stall said they came knocking on the door of his stall where he slept around 1:00a.m., and  as he refused to open up, they used a cutlass to break the door. He said he saw about 10 of them armed with guns outside the door and before he could make any move they hit him on the head with the cutlass. 

He added that his older brother who stayed within the vicinity heard the noise and came to help him but the robbers injured him too.

The hoodlums and  made away with goods and money totalling about N126,000 and his two phones  worth N15,000. 

Aso Chronicle gathered from residents of Dangba that most of the attacks in the village were allegedly carried out on farmers by herders as the former resisted cattle grazing on their crops.

A security guard at an uninhabited estate in the community said he has been attacked five times in the past one year. 

Showing a deep cut on his left wrist that he is still nursing, the guard who declined giving his name for security reasons, said he suffered the first attack in November 2016.

He explained that he was wounded in the fourth attack of November 5, 2017 when herders forced their way into the estate he was guarding and he attempted stopping them.

“They came about three of them with a large herd of cattle and were grazing the animals on my sweet potatoes. When I asked them to go out, that the estate was a private property, they attacked me with their cutlasses. You can see I still have a wound on my wrist that is yet to heal. 

“When I called the attention of the police they came and I narrated my plight to them and they arrested some suspects but after a while they were released.

“The security team is only concerned with the project the Chinese are doing in the area. It is when they notice some equipment  brought for construction that is when they will commence patrolling  just to get some stipend,” he claimed.

He also said that the same people came back and attacked him on November 19, 2017, breaking the iron burglary proof on his security post window.

Kabiru Adamu, a resident of the area who owns an irrigation farm on Destiny Housing Estate’s land also narrated his encounters with herders, saying he had been a victim several times.

“They invaded my farm. The cows destroyed my beans and that of my neighbour,” he added. 

 Kabiru explained that the last attack which happened in the estate on November 19, 2017, was  when he was on his way to his farm and he met the security guard complaining about herders raiding his place. He said before he knew what was happening, somebody was wounded on the head but he tried and calmed down the situation.

He said most times, when herders graze their cattle on farmers crops, they don’t compensate them, even when they report to the police.  

The Mai Angwan Dangba, Ismaila Magaji, confirmed the attacks on the security guard, decrying the precarious security situation in the community. He said herders-farmers clashes were incessant. 

He also said that burglaries and motorcycle snatching were also witnessed in the community.

He made mention of an incident where two motorcyclists were ambushed by hoodlums and their motorcycles stolen around the villages. 

“Each time we have a stolen bike incident, we alert the people in some strategic places. When I received the report that two bikes were stolen, I mobilized members of the community and they went after the hoodlums and the stolen bikes were recovered abandoned by the thieves who were fleeing from our men’s chase,” he said.

 “The herdsmen often graze their cattle on our farmlands. When I met with the Fulani head (Ardo) he promised to call his people to order, which he did.  A few days back we had a similar issue, the herdsmen invaded someone’s farm and the Ardo asked them to pay for the damage caused,” he added.

On the issue of break-ins, he said the hoodlums lived within the vicinity and that sometimes they appealed to them to allow peace to reign but they didn’t listen.

He also said community members always reported criminal incidents to the police but they didn’t respond the right way thereby allowing the hoodlums go about carrying out their nefarious acts unhindered. 

“We call on the government to send more police patrol teams to contain these criminals,” Magaji said.

 When our reporters visited the Iddo divisional police station for comments on the claims by the residents, the DPO, Salman Manjo, declined, saying he was not authorised to speak to the press under any circumstance.