The Defence Headquarters has attributed the recent spate of violent attacks on communities in Benue, Plateau, and other parts of the country to foreign herders who have infiltrated Nigeria through porous borders.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Markus Kangye, said the identities and languages of the assailants have helped security forces confirm that many of the attackers are not Nigerians.
He said, “Well , when you hear them talk in some instances , you will be able to decipher whether these people are from here or not. For instance, if I speak Hausa and my brother from the South East speaks Hausa, you’ll know that this Hausa is a borrowed one and Hausa language like any other language has different versions and intonations.
” If somebody from Sokoto for instance speaks Hausa and my friend from Katsina speaks Hausa you’ll notice some differences.
“The Hausa language we speak in Nigeria is different from that of Mali, Central Africa Republic and Ghana. ”
He added that apart from their language, their hair also showed they are not Nigerians.
“So when we arrest these herders and terrorists from the way they speak, it is clear and even from their hair, you will tell you that they are not from Nigeria.
“I think the only community in Nigeria that has hair similar to the Shuwa in the Sahel region is probably the Shuwa Arabs in Borno State but they don’t even have the same”, he said.
Kangye’s remarks come amid growing concerns over recurring attacks by armed herders on farming communities, which have left hundreds dead and thousands displaced in recent months. Many of the victims are now taking refuge in Internally Displaced Persons camps.
The Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, had earlier stated that foreign herders were exploiting the ECOWAS protocol on free movement to cross borders and unleash terror on local communities.
Kangye noted that while some Nigerian herders also get into conflict with farmers, the most violent incidents are largely driven by infiltrators.
He said, “One will also admit that many of those terrorising our people are foreigners even though some of them are also Nigerians.
“There are some herders that are Nigerians that also get involved in the process of rearing their cows then they encroach into these farms and then before you know it conflict ensued between the farmers and the farmers, and these are the issues we are trying to solve
“But know that most of the violence and incessant killings you are hearing in some parts of this country are perpetrated by mostly those that find their way into the country through our porous borders. ”
He called for stronger inter-agency collaboration to monitor Nigeria’s borders and ensure that all entrants are accounted for.
Highlighting the military operational success, Kangye announced the arrest of a notorious gunrunner and kidnapping kingpin, Buhari Umar, who has been terrorizing communities in Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau, and Kaduna States.
He said troops also apprehended a five-man kidnapping syndicate in Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The suspects were identified as Hassan Mohammed, Saleh Sani, Idi Yusuf, Adamu Danmai, and Hassan Bello.
The military, according to Kangye, also neutralised scores of terrorists, including a wanted leader identified as Nkwachi Eze, also known as Onowu, who had been coordinating multiple attacks and kidnappings across the South East.
In April, he said troops rescued 173 kidnapped victims, while over 204 terrorists and their family members surrendered to Nigerian forces.
“A total of 430 suspected oil thieves and other criminals were also arrested. In operations targeting economic sabotage, troops of Operation DELTA SAFE foiled oil theft valued at over N1.93 billion in just one week.
