Residents of Amegu Nkalaha Community have accused the Nigerian military and the police of complicity in the Fulani herdsmen attack, alleging that they were warned not to leave the community on Saturday, only for the attackers to strike the next day without any intervention from security forces.
They also noted that the soldiers after the attack, returned and seized their phones, prevented them from documenting the carnage and alerting the world.
SaharaReporters had reported on Monday that at least 16 residents were gruesomely slaughtered in the attack which took place on Sunday morning, with at least 25 hours razed completely.
Eyewitnesses described how the attackers struck on Sunday while residents were in church, burning houses and yam barns, and slitting the throats of some victims. Others were shot dead.
One resident, Simon Edeze, claimed that soldiers seized phones from community members who were documenting the aftermath of the attack, threatening to destroy their homes if they saw any videos or pictures of the carnage.
“Worse still, when they came the soldiers seized the phone of our people who were making videos and threatened that if they see it videos of the carnage and pictures of the destruction they will comeback and destroy them,” Simon Edeze, whose phone was seized, narrated.
According to him, “After they carried 10 corpses our people recovered including a retired policeman namely Mr James Ogbu, from different locations they were slaughtered, the soldiers returned and handed back the phones seized from the people.”
The community also criticised the deputy governor of Ebonyi, Mrs. Patricia Obila, for allegedly ordering mass arrests in the community and accusing residents of killing cows belonging to Fulani herdsmen, without visiting the community to condole with the victims’ families.
“Even the deputy governor of Ebonyi, Mrs Patricia Obila, was the one telling the police that they should go for mass arrest in our community, accusing our people of killing cows belonging to the Fulani herdsmen. Till now, she hasn’t visited the community.”
Residents expressed frustration that the government only responds when cows are killed, but remains silent when their farms and crops are destroyed by the same cows.