Almost a month after the unusual massacre of over 100 security operatives in Nassarawa State, more facts are yet to be revealed on the factors that led to the killing. Likewise, the details of exactly how the act was carried out and the seeming inability of the state to fish out actors behind the killing to punish them are yet to unfold.
The dismal atmosphere that enveloped Lafia is yet to improve since the Tuesday, May 7, mayhem.
The group allegedly responsible for the killing is the Ombatse, a dreaded sect as bloody as it is a secret spiritual cult of the Eggon tribe in the state.
Daily Sun visited Lafia and Alakyo to discover that a pall of despondency still pervades these areas. Residents are yet to recover from the shock that accompanied the mass murder.
In fact, there is still considerable disquiet about the safety of residents as fear of a reprisal attack is still present.
In the midst
of the gloom, the name of one man, Alega Agu, popularly known as Baba-Alakyo – a village where the killings took place – dominates discussions of people of the state albeit in hushed tones. He is the high priest of Ombatse, the group whose members allegedly carried out the killing.
Security operatives comprising mobile policemen and members of the department of State Security Services [SSS] were on a mission to Alakyo, a squalid and poor community located in Lafia East Development Area. Their mission was to arrest the 76-year-old Baba-Alakyo on the orders of the state government.
Police operation
According to police sources at the state command, the former Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abayomi Akeremale, received reports of how the supposedly cultural organisation, Ombatse, were abducting people from mosques and churches to forcefully administer oath of allegiance on them to the Eggon deity. In the course of police investigation, “we discovered that a native priest, one Baba Alakyo, was behind the administration of the oath as well as a concoction that would compel obedience to the deity. It was further discovered that a large cache of illegal arms had been stockpiled at the shrine where Bab Alakyo administered the oath.
“Acting on the directive of the Inspector General of Police, the command launched an operation to arrest the Ombatse priest as well as recover the weapons at the shrine.”
Governor’s account
Governor Tanko Al-Makura, who has since denied any complicity in the crisis, spoke about the incident. According to him, “we discovered a certain militia group holding arms and carrying out cult activities in the state. Since January, this thing has not abated and in the past weeks it took a total different dimension.
“They had been invading even churches, compelling people of the ethnic group to take potions that are meant to empower them to do what they do. This escalated and caused serious concern in the state. We decided to hold security meeting to find a way of solving the problem. The solution was to go to the shrine and pick up the cult leader.
“As security operatives approached the shrine, unknown to them, an ambush had been laid by members of the Ombatse cult. The attack resulted in the death of the security operatives.”
Bloody ambush
On the day of the operation, Daily Sun gathered, 115 security operatives comprising 101 mobile policemen, 10 officers from the department of State Security Services (SSS) and four others from the Special Investigation Bureau (SIB) were being conveyed in 11 Hilux trucks to the village. They never knew that information about the invasion had leaked to the militiamen. They were ambushed, overpowered and slaughtered like fowls, with only nine members of the team escaping with injuries.
Security report
A highly placed security source told Daily Sun how a security report revealed that before the operation was embarked upon, operatives of the SSS had gone to the village and certified the place clear for the operation.
According to the source, the two security agencies and the Army had been contacted by the Nasarawa State government on the cultists’ activities in Ombatse village, about five kilometres from Lafia, the state capital.
The source said the Army, which had initially agreed to the terms of the state government and promised to be part of the operation, backed out just before the operation began.
And before this development, the then Commissioner of Police, Akeremale, had contacted the SSS operatives, who went on a surveillance operation of the village and came back with a clean report of free and safe operation.
Meanwhile, the late Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of operations, Mr. Ozi Momoh, who was earlier transferred out of the state and allegedly brought back with the influence of Governor Al-Makura, contacted his counterpart in the SSS to be part of the operation.
“With reliable intelligence from the SSS operatives that the coast was clear for the operation, the two top ranking security operatives, along with their juniors, set out on the journey.
“Along the line, the operation was leaked to the highly fetish people, who had not only planted their warriors along the road, but also planted juju whose efficacy allegedly roasted the operatives alive immediately their vehicles touched a portion of the land.
“To say that the death of these security operatives was mysterious is like begging the fact. Up till now, no one can explain what made over 100 trained security operatives to weakly submit to such degree of massacre.”
Harvest of corpses
Mr. Jerry Kuje is secretary of the Red Cross in Nasarawa State. He narrates the tough task his men had evacuating corpses of the slain policemen from scene of the incident.
“The incident coincided with the Red Cross Day and we were summoned to government office for an emergency meeting where the news was broken to us. Because the community said it was not going to allow any security or uniform person in the village, the task of evacuating the victims automatically fell on us.
“We mobilized 15 volunteers with five ambulances for the assignment and after adequate logistic and briefing, we took off to the village. On arrival, we were thoroughly screened and allowed access into the bushes to search and evacuate bodies of the slain security operatives.
“The community gave us leaders to accompany us pick up dead bodies and the exercise lasted five days – from Wednesday to Sunday. My organization provided body bags, hand gloves and other materials. Those we could identify, we wrote their names and attached it to the body bags. At the hospital, policemen were on ground to receive the bodies. We evacuated 50 bodies and eight persons with various degrees of injuries.”
Politics
Although there are no clear reasons for the killing, Daily Sun investigation revealed it might not be unconnected to political interest in 2015 among three political gladiators in the state.
Governor Al-Makura from the Gwandara ethnic group in Lafia Local Government Area and the two sons of the Eggon tribe, Senator Solomon Ewuga, and Information Minister, Labaran Maku, who are all indigenes of Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area.
While Al-Makura represents the babel of other ethnic groups in the state, scheming to hold onto to power, Ewuga and Maku, on the other hand, represent the Eggon people, the largest ethnic segment bent on producing the next governor.
Former governor of the state, who is now at the Senate, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has admitted that the killings have some political linings. “It may not be unconnected to politics. You can’t rule it out. There is a possibility. Unfortunately, we are starting 2015 campaign too early and there are people who want to act fast and get what they want. There are speculations here and there, there are rumours all over and this is what this kind of situation gives birth to. Even if it has no political connotation, but given the timing and nature of the crime and the lives lost, there must be more to it than just the issue of cultism. That was why people are reading political meaning to it. I think there must be some political link. We have to look into it otherwise the state will not know peace.
“Let us not put the whole thing on cultism. It is very difficult to believe they are just cultists. Anybody can take undue advantage of that. I don’t just believe in this cult thing they are called, they are people living in the society, they mingle with other people,” Adamu said.
Ombatse mysticism
With a majority population of about 47 per cent of the entire state, the Eggon people are said to be consolidating to wrest political power that has eluded them since independence from other ethnic groups in the state through the umbrella of Ombatse.
The word simply means “time has come”, which practitioners claim is a traditional religion handed to them from heaven.
Simply put, Ombatse is known as mysticism that seeks to cleanse society of ills, including adultery, fornication, theft, killing, drunkenness, etc. to pave the way for the culture of morality and chastity. This spiritual practice, which hitherto had been silent and spoken about only in whisper, recently became a political rallying point to unite the Eggon people in their pursuit for political power.
But those opposed to the aspiration of Eggon people and who are sympathetic to the incumbent governor are reportedly scheming to weaken and destroy the group before the next election.
Daily Sun gathered that the various spates of confrontations with the Eggon people led to the police raid of Ombatse shrine in 2012 at Alogani village. This development sparked peaceful demonstration by Eggon youths at the end of which the governor was barred from visiting the shrine. It was after this incident that both the pro-Muslim group and the pro-Ombatse group stepped up their scheming, with the Ombatse gaining upper hand in the quest to replace the incumbent governor with their own son.
Ethnic cleansing
Apart from the alleged political manoeuvring to stop the Eggon people from producing a governor, some people of Eggon extraction who spoke with Daily Sun accused other tribes of plotting to wipe them out from the face of the earth through sponsored state killing of their people.
Zachary Zamani Allumag, a retired magistrate, blamed the tense inter-ethnic relations in the state on plot to wipe out the Eggon people by successive Muslim governors of the state.
“The reason there is serious animosity against the Ombatse group is because they are aware that we went to Azhili and prayed for the political landscape of the state to change for good; and indeed, it changed. Our prayer is working. As 2015 is approaching, we are aware that some people are planning to ensure the Eggon people are dislodged from the politics of the state. So, they call us all kinds of names to hang us.
“We also discovered that some politicians from Eggon, the likes of Ewuga, now a senator, who aspired to be governor of the state, was rigged out by Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, the first civilian governor, during the PDP governorship election. As I am talking to you, the result of that primary election has not been declared, apart from simply saying Adamu won it. Nobody has told anybody the margin with which he won.
“As if that was the end, when his government got to power he conspired with other tribes in the state and introduced a gambit he called deployment policy. In other words, according to him, all Eggon should leave wherever they are settled in the state to Nassarawa Eggon. The decision was challenged and we went as far as the Supreme Court and judgment was delivered April this year in our favour, declaring such directive as illegal.
“It was an infringement on the fundamental human rights of the Eggon people. They all know that the Eggon were on ground before whoever arrived in Nassarawa State. And now, you are the one telling us today that we should go to Nassarawa Eggon. I can assure you that no fewer than 20 of our people died while resisting that policy and the hardship it created.”
Herdsmen mercenaries
Another top state government official of Eggon alleged that Fulani herdsmen are being hired by the state government to fight the Eggon people in an attempt to decimate their population. He cited the fighting between the Fulani and Eggon communities around Bassa, Kokona LGAs that spread to other villages like Angwan Wuje, Kurmin Kura, Sakoto, and the main Bassa town, leaving many dead and many houses burnt, as an example.
He said, “Security men could not stop the fighting because there are so many small villages with no good roads scattered in the area.
“The herdsmen continue to attack villages at night. Many villagers are on the run to the nearest safe place called Mada station and the government is not acting seriously on these crises. To worsen the matter, the herdsmen are using sophisticated guns, and I wonder where they got them.”
President of Eggon Cultural and Development Association (ECDA), the mouthpiece of the Eggon nation, Chris Mamman said: “Recently, the Eggon nation has been bedeviled with a lot of crisis, resulting in the wanton loss of lives and properties, which cannot be quantified in measurable terms. This crisis is ethno-political and socio-economic in nature, and for the records, we intend to state a few cases.
Tensed past
“On March 30, 2007, the Alago Militias attacked our peace-loving people in Assakio town in Lafia East Development Area to annihilate or cleanse the area of the Eggon people for no just cause. The Eggon lost so many lives and over 200 houses were totally razed. Despite our cry to both the state government and the law enforcement agencies, nothing was done to either compensate our people over the loss of properties or even a visit from any government official to condole with us over the loss of lives.
On Saturday, April 7, 2012, a band of Fulani militia attacked our people in Yelwa Ediya in Doma Local Government Area, killing Eggon people and burning 22 houses belonging to Eggon people.
On June 1, 2012, the Alago Militia with the support of other invited ethnic militias attacked Eggon quarters in Assakio town, killing some of our people. The reason for the attack is what they called non-payment of royalty/tribute on a bag of rice per Eggon farmer as imposed by the Alago community leader. Our people defended themselves. The rest is now history.
On October 18, 2012, a band of Fulani militia attacked our people in Angwan Alaku and Kadarko Railway Villages of Giza Development Area. This led to the death of nine Eggon people who were not only butchered but parts of their bodies were mutilated and removed and their corpses deposited in the bush close to their farms.
Orgy of killings
“As if that was not enough, on November 17, 2012, a joint team comprising the Nigerian Army and State Security Services in full war regalia and commando style invaded Alogani village at the foot of the Eggon hills, distracted and attacked our armless and helpless people who had gone there to perform their cultural and religious rites. The armed invaders shot and wounded five of our people, which led to a peaceful protest by the Eggon people in Nassarawa Eggon.
The arrival of the governor, who denied having knowledge of the armed invasion by security operatives, saved the situation from further deterioration.
On November 21, 2012, trouble broke out in Gwadenye and Agyaragu communities that led to loss of lives. It is unfortunate that this is happening between two ethnic groups that have peacefully coexisted since the beginning of time. The cordial relationship between the Eggon and Migili can better be explained with the level of inter marriages between the two ethnic groups. Our doors are open for reconciliation with the Migili people on the way forward.
Self-defence
The Eggon people have been vehement in defending themselves in all possible ways. In press briefings they said: “Let us make it clear for the records that the Eggon people are peaceful, law-abiding and tolerant, having withstood all acts of aggression and provocation in times past and will continue to live in peace with their neighbours for the overall development of Nassarawa State.
“We totally condemn the use of violence as a means of settling grievances; we also want to put on record the nefarious and mischievous activities of certain interests in government who have refused to sleep until the Eggon nation is completely wiped out from the face of the earth. God in His wisdom created the Akye, Alago, Eggon, Fulani, Gwandara, Hausa, Kanuri, Migili and the Tiv. He created us not to fight and exterminate one another, but to harness our diversities for the growth and progress of humanity.
“We want to use this medium to appeal to all these ethnic nationalities to embrace the path of peace and progress and shun the path of violence, which has not and will not help us in any way.
Indicting the governor
They also accused the government of not being proactive in attending to emergencies as it affects the Eggon nation. “A typical example is the Yelwa and Angwan Alaku crisis where our people were massacred without a single word of consolation from the government.
“We call on the security operatives to be sincere and neutral in the discharge of their duties. Recently, a number of our youths were arrested for no just cause and no evidence of their involvement in any act of violence. A case in point is after the massacre of our people in Angwan Alaku. To add salt to injury the security operatives started arresting our youths in different places and putting them behind bars after brutalizing and maltreating them. As we speak, there is a random and indiscriminate arrest of innocent Eggon people in the guise of investigation. We are keenly watching to see the outcome. We also wish to state that at present troublemakers have invaded farms belonging to Eggon people and are harvesting and destroying their farm produce. Quite a number of our people have been ambushed on their way to the farms by a band of people who do not want to see peace prevail.
“We are also aware of the recent arrest of four Fulani militia men dressed in army uniforms and in possession of AK-47 rifles on one hand and also four Alago boys from Assakio, who were arrested with 7N&-A7, paraded on TV. But today, as we speak, they are free men. This is selective justice.
Indicting SSS
“Activities of the State Security Services need to be investigated, especially their roles in the invasion of Alogani Centre on November 17, 2012. We also call on the Nasarawa State government to investigate the activities of some public officers who have been using their exalted offices to fuel the crisis. This is in spite of the block votes from the Eggon people to bring this government to power.
“We appreciate the recent measures taken by the governor to arrest further escalation of the crisis. We assure him of the support of Eggon people to develop our state as we will never start a fight with any ethnic group and will not support, subscribe or ascribe to violence in any form.”
Hard to describe
In absolving the people of Alakyo of killing of the security men, Mamman can’t understand why over 100 armed security operatives were deployed to arrest 76-year-old Agu, the acclaimed high priest of the Ombatse group. He also warns the public against “demonizing and criminalizing every Eggon person as fallout of the killing of security operatives.
“We are not against the prosecution of anybody found culpable in this matter, but it should not be on the basis that a person is simply Eggon. The Ombatse group is not responsible for the killing of the policemen because our association (ECDA) had offered to help the police fish out the criminals, who under the guise of Ombatse three weeks ago, forced a pastor and some adherents of Islamic faith to take a potion that initiates one into the spiritual group. But to our surprise, the police rather chose to invade Alakyo village, reneging on an earlier agreement.”
Raid in governor’s village
The ethnic violence was also visited on Kwandere, the governor’s hometown, in Lafia Local Government Area. The town was invaded by persons suspected to be Eggon militiamen on February 7. The entire area was rocked by the violence that spilled into Lafia, the state capital. The palace of Ahmadu Al-Makura, Emir of Kwandere, and elder brother to the governor, was razed. The attack allegedly targeted Fulani herdsmen taking refuge there after unleashing terror on Eggon settlements. The fight had started at Angwan Amanza where two ethnic groups first clashed, and Kwandere where the fight heightened, as well as Ombi II area of Lafia, where tension forced residents to flee.
Ethnic wars
The widespread crisis has affected every ethnic group in the state, but the Eggon and Fulani continually feature prominently in the campaign of violence rocking the state since 2012, and the end of February this year.
Another source told Daily Sun that when members of the Nassarawa State House of Assembly sent the governor an impeachment threat last year over the widening gun battle in the state, they associated him with the arsonists. But the governor denied his involvement, saying he had to use tact in dealing with the violent groups so that he does not provoke more crisis.
A source said the relationship between the governor and Senator Ewuga became strained within the period of the attacks and counter attacks. The two politicians had a robust relationship in the electioneering days when they decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). The raging attacks and counter attacks have been widely blamed on them, with many inferring that they are at each other’s jugular because of the 2015 election.
Also, the recent honeymoon between Governor Al-Makura and Senator Adamu, a former governor of the state, in whose period Senator Ewuga faced the worst betrayal in his political sojourn, is believed to have worsened the relationship between the two CPC leaders.
Governor as Ombatse member
It was further alleged by some residents of the state that Governor Al-Makura was initiated into the Ombatse cult before the last election, which led to his emergence after his visit to the shrine.
“After helping the governor to win election, he turned his back on them and started sponsoring violent attacks on the people, using security operatives and hired mercenaries from Mali, Niger and Fulani herdsmen,” a source told Sunday Sun.
The residents also blamed the escalation of violence in the state on the shoddy handling of the crisis by the governor as he refused to order the arrest of mercenaries who have continually attacked Eggon settlements.
“The bloodbath was the outcome of a struggle for supremacy between the cult group, which assisted the governor during the last election, and mercenary militia brought into the state from Chad, Mali and Niger to dislodge the Ombatse group.”
It was alleged that the governor was angry with the Ombatse group following recent clashes between the mercenaries at his hometown of Kwandara where the mercenaries were reportedly camped.
According to the source, “Governor Al-Makura through his elder brother, who is a traditional ruler, provides a fertile ground for these mercenaries who often spark off communal wars that have remained largely unreported.”
Counter allegations
Dismissing allegations that the killing of the security operatives was politically motivated, the state government accused the Ombatse group of inflicting injuries on innocent citizens of the state and infringing their fundamental human rights.
Speaking on behalf of the state government, Yakubu Abdul Kwarra, Senior Special Adviser on Public Affairs to the Governor, said, “The Ombatse group is compelling people to join their cult. They go to churches and mosques and force people to join their group and those who refuse are beaten up. Government has the responsibility to intervene to ensure that no organization, group or individual has the right to harass any member or initiate people into any group against their will.
“So, it was in this regard that the state government initiated measures to arrest the situation and the decision to deploy security men to Alakyo was that of the State Security Council. Soldiers were not involved in the assignment because it was entirely a civil matter and you don’t just drag the military into civil disturbance.”
He described as unfounded the allegation of ethnic cleansing by the Eggon people. Kwarra said it is the Eggon that are plotting to acquire political dominance over other tribes in the state. “The Eggon has fought other tribes in the state and it is natural that they would be disliked by other tribes. So, there is no plot of wiping them out as alleged, it is the imagination of those making such allegations.”
Since 1999, the Eggon has never had a fair share in the state politically except under Governor Al-Makura in which they have four House of Assembly members, three commissioners, one senator, one minister and a member of the House of Representatives. Where then lies the issue of political marginalization or ethnic cleansing? As I speak to you, the Security Adviser to the governor is an Eggon man, as well as the Head of Service,” he said, adding that government was ready to cooperate with the Federal Government to get to the root of the matter and punish perpetrators.
More tales of woes
Accusing the police hierarchy of concealing the nature of the operation to the slain officers, Mrs. Mary Sunday said: “My husband said the operation was around Benue State where a fight had erupted between farmers and the Fulani, only to learn later that they were to arrest a herbalist. Although she was one of those whose bodies could not be identified, she demanded for autopsy to enable families conduct proper burials. “I want to bury my husband myself, so, government should ensure that proper autopsy is conducted.”
The story of Mrs. Joy Danladi, a pregnant mother of five, was more touching: “Every morning my children ask me when daddy would be coming back and I don’t know what to tell them. I have not been to school and don’t have a job, and now our breadwinner is gone. What am I going to do with these children?
Mrs. Rita Benjamin, widow of Corporal Benjamin Zakari said, “Our husbands left us to protect lives and property of other Nigerians. They didn’t return because there was nobody to protect them. They were told that they were going for operation in Makurdi, a neighbouring Benue State. So, they did not even know where they were being taken. They kissed their families goodbye and left happily. Today, we are widows and our children have become fatherless. Oh! There is God and we will continue to believe in Him. But we have lost hope in government and security agencies to protect those whose duty is to protect Nigerians.”
Also at the Police Command was the family of the late Assistant Commissioner of Police, Prince Mohammed Ozi Momoh, and the Officer-in-charge of Operation; who led the ill-fated operation to Alakyo.
Meanwhile, leader of the women, Mrs. Lovis, has appealed to the Federal Government to offer their children and educated women among them employment to help the family. She said life would no longer be the same for them with the death of their breadwinners.
Village of death and Ombatse cult leader
From a distance, Alakyo had a good deal of charm; the closely packed, traditional thatched houses, the smoke curling up into a pinky sky; the tall and slender trees that hugged the environment. Up close, however, one saw the poverty and squalor in which the people lived. The roads are narrow and unpaved, and every lot was filled with dozens of shanties huddled close together. Indeed, it is a desolate road that cut through an unpopulated area of about 300 inhabitants. Situated at the Lafia East Development Area, the only government presence is a primary school that stops at class two. It is a typical village bereft of social infrastructure, including water and electricity. This is where the man at the centre of the killing and spiritual leader of Ombatse, Lega Agu, popularly known as Baba Alakyo, lives.
Ever since the mind-boggling killing of over 100 security operatives in mysterious circumstances, the village has become notorious and dreaded by citizens of the state. Nobody wants to visit the village again. For many people, the fear of Baba Alakyo, a 76-year-old man believed to have supernatural powers, is the beginning of wisdom.
When Daily Sun visited the village, it was calm and dull except for few children playing and singing around innocently. It is now a polluted village, polluted with the blood of over 100 security men slaughtered in cold blood. Although they died many days ago, their baked blood has refused to be washed off by the rain, as the grasses still spot bloody colours. Above the rooftops, birds still hovers in the pinky sky searching human meat that has become so common since the incident. Also, burnt vehicles litter the ground without their occupants.
Meet Baba Alakyo, spiritual head
Seventy-six-year-old Lega Agu popularly known as Baba Alakyo, is a reputable herbalists who for decades has been administering local herbs to the sick in his domain. He is widely believed to indulge in mysticism to protect mostly his Eggon people from evil and also provides remedy against witches and wizards. Politicians and many other people normally visit him for spiritual powers.
When Daily Sun approached him, he was seated in an ox-blood sofa, spotting white goatee beard with a grim face that suggested no harm. His dimmed eyes scrutinised this reporter as he offered him a seat.
Speaking in Eggon language with the aid of an interpreter, the chief priest said he did not know how the security operatives died, as he was in a nearby village on the day of the incident.
Count me out
“When the security operatives came, because they were themselves drunk, my god did not allow them to get to me and they died on the way.
It is the governor (Al-Makura) that asked them to arrest me, cut my head and take it to him. The question I asked is, has the governor ever invited me and I refused to go? But he sent people to come and kill me and destroy Alakyo as a whole. That is just what it is.
Denying that he forced people to be initiated into the Ombatse cult by drinking fetish concoction as widely reported, the chief priest said, “If I ever opened my mouth to force anybody to take oath, God should punish me.”
The Ombatse cult
According to historic accounts, shrines of Eggon origin, where adherents go for spiritual activities have existed since time immemorial, and have been passed on to one generation from another, but nothing was heard about Ombatse before 2011.
Again, the devotees had not been associated with violence, just as security agencies have never challenged them.
The Eggon, the largest tribe in Nasarawa State, are predominantly Christians and Muslims. However, the age-long traditional values, including worshipping in shrines still have their place and roots, and are jealously guarded against erosion by activities of the modern world.
These shrines have hosted businessmen, politicians, athletes, artistes and other Africans who believe in their potency for a long period. Activities at these shrines
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