Police in Kogi arrests Enugu attack suspect

The Kogi State Police Command has arrested one of the Fulani herdsmen suspected to have participated in the massacre of about 48 people in Nimbo community, Uzo- Uwani local government area of Enugu State.

According to a Saturday Sun report, the suspect, identified as Mo­hammed Zure, was initially ar­rested by the police because of his connection with some suspected kidnappers in the state.

A source in the Kogi State Police Command qouted by the report, said Mohammed was granted bail after the prime suspect in the kidnap case for which he was nabbed was arrested.

“He was granted bail and because he needed someone to take him on bail, the investigating officer decid­ed to switch on his phone. Out of curiosity, he decided to go through the content of the phone. It was in the process that he discovered hor­rible video clips of a murder scene.

“Everything changed imme­diately and he was taken back to the interrogation room. He later confessed that he was the one who took the video while they were slaughtering one of the victims during the Enugu killings. In the video, you could hear him shouting and saying in Hausa ‘I have killed you now. You think that you can kill Fulani herdsmen and go free’. He personally took the picture to show his family members that he was actually successful and par­ticipated in the killings”, the police source stated.

The source further said that Mo­hammed confessed that they were more than 100 Fulani herdsmen who participated in the attack.

“He con­fessed that they were more than 100 and were selected from differ­ent states especially from Taraba, Kogi, Benue, Nasarrawa, Kas­tina, Niger and Kaduna states. He claimed that the people of Nimbo had killed so many of their people in the past and government did not do anything about it. He claimed that they also reported severally to Nimbo elders but they refused to investigate, that was why they de­cided to retaliate.”

According to the source, the suspect told the police that the Fulani are so united that whatever affects an individual is their problem.

Mohammed also allegedly told the police that their people in Nimbo shared Kolanut to all cattle rearers across the country, signifying that there is going to be an attack and everyone should send representatives to support them.

He alleged that this is their cus­tom and has been in existence.

According to Mohammed, he was nominated to join the attack because he was born and raised in Enugu by his father who is also a herdsman and that they gathered at a village in Kogi State two days before the attack to strategise and perfect how the attack would be executed.

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