killings in Nigeria

It is Time to Consider General Theophilus Danjuma’s Self-Defence Option

There is hardly any day one wakes up in Nigeria without the news of attacks by hoodlums on some parts of the country. As a result of this, thousands of people are being sent to an early grave, while many more are being maimed or rendered homeless. These incidents also destroy properties worth billions of naira continuously. For instance, the nine-year Boko Haram insurgency is estimated to have claimed over 20,000 lives, displaced more than 2.6 million people, created over 75,000 orphans and caused about $9 billion worth of damage in Nigeria between 2009 and 2017. Since 2009, the Nigerian armed forces have been battling the insurgents, but complete success has not been achieved, as from time to time, the insurgents strike to show they have not been decimated.

However, as Nigerians were basking in the euphoria of overcoming the terror of Boko Haram, they were once more jolted to yet another deadly killer squad, the Fulani herdsmen, rated to be more lethal than Boko Haram. The Fulani herdsmen have been terrorising Nigerians since 2015, especially in the Middle Belt states of Benue and Taraba. Other states in the Middle Belt and the southern part of the country have also had their fair share of the carnage. The menace started as clashes with farmers who frown at the destruction of their farms by the herdsmen and their cattle, and gradually snowballed into brazen attacks and mass murders by the rampaging killer Fulani herdsmen. Each attack leaves behind the trail of blood, pains and death of the people.

The concern is becoming particularly acute against the background of weakness or failure on the part of the government to address this rising form of extremist violence. Hence, a former defence chief, General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), whose many fellow indigenes of Taraba State have fallen to the swords of these attackers, have called on the indigenous peoples of Nigeria to pick up arms and defend themselves. He warned against continued reliance on Nigerian security forces whom he accused of complicity in the killings going on in several parts of the country.

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