Another high-profile murder is on our hands again. Last Tuesday, some gunmen attacked and shot dead Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.), former chief-of-defence staff. He was attacked and killed inside his vehicle along Abuja-Lafia road while returning from his farm. The Adamawa-born Badeh died as a result of bullet wounds that he sustained during the attack.
Until his death, the former defence chief was standing trial for alleged N3.9 billion fraud he allegedly perpetrated while he was in office.
It is rather unfortunate that this assassination may end up as another one in the long list of unresolved murders in the country. It is also unfortunate to know that after the initial period of mourning, wailing and general condemnation by all, live will sooner than later return to normal. The case would seemed closed forever and that would be the end of the story until another person is killed and the vicious circle would go on and on again.
Even as we make pretentious attempts to diversify our sources of revenue as a nation through agriculture, those who have heeded the call by the government to go into farming are running away from their farms as their lives are no longer secured. Although, the motive behind the murder is yet to be known, the fact that the man was killed on his way from his farm certainly will again send shivers down the spines of farmers.
In Benue State, considered as one of the food baskets of the country and other states where farming is serious business, many farmers have since abandoned their farms because of fear of being killed. In Zamfara now, it is a tale of every day killings. Until the killers of Badeh are unmasked and motive behind their action made public, it will be difficult to convince an ordinary farmer that his life is safe if a very highly placed Nigerian can just be killed like a chicken.
Badeh’s death came at a time when the Federal Government was having a face-off with Amnesty International (AI). The presidency had faulted claims by AI that deadly clashes between farmers and herdsmen in some parts of the country are attributable to failure of government officials to respond swiftly to early warning signs. AI also accused the government of complacence, especially in bringing offenders to book to serve as deterrents as well as other alleged human rights violations.
AI had in its report titled “Harvest of Death: Three years of bloody clashes between farmers and herders in Nigeria” taken a swipe on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
However, the Federal Government speaking through Malam Garba Shehu, the presidential spokesman, said the report only confirms President Buhari’s position that the conflict between herders and farmers in Nigeria was not anchored on religion.
Shehu also alleged that Amnesty International report may have been influenced by local politicians who are of the mindset that this whole problem is about scarcity of resources. The presidential spokesman also said the report raises questions about the validity of AI’s evidence-gathering.
“It is like knowing the facts but drawing the wrong conclusions. Still, Amnesty International got some of its facts wrong. It is not correct to state in any way that the problem between farmers and herders is a new thing over the last three years.
“It has been happening for over 100 years. Colonial Powers Britain and France had regularly recorded these conflicts which are available in archives. It is equally untrue that government has done nothing. Alleged human rights abuses have been investigated. Clashes have been reduced through government’s actions. This progress is due to the strong determination of the administration to punish rights violators no matter who they are, including the military through orderly room trials, court martials and the regular courts.”
Aside the political relevance of the government reaction, there is clearly no need engaging AI in any brickbat because the issues raised by them are with us today. It is true that our soldiers have been complaining of poor treatment, it is also true that this did not start today or in the last three years, but it is sad that it has continued and there appears to be no solution in sight. Recently, some soldiers in Maiduguri on a visit to Lagos confirmed that they are poorly fed. One actually said the portion they get as meal can barely feed a two-year-old.
They have also openly complained about the superior firepower of insurgents. The recent case of Melete is still fresh in our memory. How long shall we continue to complain and make reference to pre-colonial and pre-2015 era while it is the responsibility of the government of the day to address the challenges confronting the nation at any given time since governance remains a continuum?
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army had called for the closure of the Amnesty International offices in Nigeria, alleging there is credible evidence the organisation is working hard to destabilise the country.
The army spokesman, Sani Usman said in a statement that the organisation’s attempt to destabilise the nation was noted through fabrication of fictitious allegations of alleged human rights abuses against the Nigerian security forces. Mr. Usman also alleged AI had engaged in clandestine sponsorship of dissident groups to protest, as well as unfounded allegations against the leadership of the Nigerian military.
Recall also that some Nigerians and human right organisations have also questioned the rationale behind the attack on AI. They have also gone further to call for the probing of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) over the funding of the war against terrorism and other crimes in the country. They alleged that the army had not made commensurate achievement in the fight in line with the huge fund the federal government allocated to the fight. In response, the COAS, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, however, explained that some of the allocated funds are yet to be cash backed and that it had not reached the army.
Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), a human rights lawyer, in a reaction wondered why the attack on the human right watch group when, as he said, “We are also aware that some senior military officers are standing trial for alleged criminal diversion of several billions of Naira earmarked for the purchase of arms and ammunition for counter insurgency operations. This sad development has prolonged the war on terror being prosecuted by the Federal Government.”
Who is fooling who? If the public is blaming the soldiers for non-performance and calling for the outright reshuffling of the nation’s security architecture and the army on the other hand is telling us the cash supposedly budgeted for the fight have not reached them; why is the Federal Government embarrassed at AI when from all indications we are only reaping what we sowed?
Global Terrorism Index, as far back as 2015, rated Nigerian Fulani militants as fourth deadliest terror group in the world. According to the rating, only Boko Haram, ISIS, and al-Shabab were deemed deadlier than the Fulani killer herders yet as we speak, the Federal Government does not see them as terrorists. Even when it is obvious that they have become more deadlier now than before. If they are not categorised accordingly, how then can we effectively address the challenge they pose? So, if AI accuses the government of failing to bring them to justice do we blame them?
Amnesty International is not the problem. It is the criminal diversion as alluded to by Falana, which is still happening today that is responsible for the rise in the case of attacks and killings of our ill-equipped soldiers. If the Federal Government does not have a means of monitoring our soldiers and their well being, except based on the information made available to them by the security chiefs; let it be known that these soldiers who are daily sent to go and die, have civilians as families and that every information concerning their well-being and treatment is public knowledge.
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