The Defence Headquarters has blamed recent violent attacks in Benue, Plateau, and other areas on foreign herders entering Nigeria through porous borders. Major General Markus Kangye, Director of Defence Media Operations, said on Thursday that the attackers’ accents, intonation, and hair texture suggest they are not Nigerian nationals.
“When you hear them speak, you can often tell they are not from here. For example, the Hausa spoken in Nigeria differs from that spoken in Mali, the Central African Republic, or Ghana,” Kangye said.
“When we arrest these herders and terrorists, their speech and even their hair distinguish them from Nigerians. Perhaps only the Shuwa Arabs in Borno State have similar features, but not quite the same,” he added.
Kangye’s remarks follow increasing anger over herder-farmer clashes that have claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands, forcing many into Internally Displaced Persons camps.
Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has also blamed foreign herders for exploiting the ECOWAS free movement protocol to enter Nigeria and cause chaos.
Kangye, however, noted that while some Nigerian herders are involved, the most violent attacks are largely the work of non-Nigerians.
“Some of those involved are Nigerians who encroach on farmlands during cattle grazing, leading to conflict. However, the most dangerous and frequent attacks come from infiltrators who enter through our porous borders,” he noted
Kangye called for closer coordination between security and border agencies to effectively monitor Nigeria’s porous frontiers.
He also highlighted recent military operations, including the arrest of notorious arms dealer Buhari Umar and a five-man kidnapping syndicate in Nasarawa. In the South-East, troops neutralised wanted gang leader Nkwachi Eze, alias Onowu, responsible for numerous attacks.
Additionally, in April alone, troops rescued 173 kidnapped victims, accepted the surrender of 204 terrorists and their families, and detained 430 suspected oil thieves, preventing oil theft worth over N1.93bn.
“We recovered over one million litres of stolen crude oil, large volumes of illegally refined products, and dismantled 95 illegal refining sites,” Kangye said.
