EDO KILLINGS AS A METAPHOR: A CALL FOR NATIONAL INTROSPECTION – Lanre Ogundipe

Hunting, as a universal and natural occupation, is as old as man. Since the beginning of time, humans hunt for the purpose of capturing or killing wildlife for meat, while in other cases, repel dangerous predators to secure a peaceful environment. Overtime, the rise of criminality has changed the shape of this existing occupational and social formations where the help of hunters is often needed in many cases to secure a peaceful, safe and harmonious society, while they still maintain their old traditional system of practice.

The heinous crimes perpetrated in the recent times across the nation has changed the narratives, the topography and architecture. Hunting has changed in hues, in colour and temperature “Ode- Aperin” gradually metamorphosed to “Ode- Ajinigbe, gbomogbomo”with reckless disregard. When the hunter of elephants suddenly turns hunter of man! It is absurdly absurd. Hunt for delicacies suddenly turned hunt for money even at the expense of lives in the name of kidnapping which gradually has become a new occupation spreading across the nation.

More disheartening is the alleged duplicity of security agents and complicity, though tacitly, by the Federal government. For crying out loud, meaningful lives, values and mores have become too meaninglessly fragile and… l am lost in qualifying words.

The killings in Plateau, Benue, Ondo and the Uromi-Edo 16 of the supposed hunters raise more security issues.

Violence and wanton killing of people on spurious allegations is unacceptable and it should be outrightly condemned while the perpetrators should face the full weight of the law. I stand in total condemnation of “jungle justice” as the picture of the reportage in the these incidents, especially the Edo 16 as it was initially presented to the public.

The Uromi killing calls for more analysis and proper investigations by the intelligence and security operatives to ascertain the facts and fictions.

Reports indicated that the dastardly acts either way require more judicious and thorough investigations and not just a scratch on the surface. The issues have to be properly probed. Travellers in night travel should have been not wasted on trumped up allegations of being kidnappers.That was my initial reaction to the reportage.

The sanctity of lives attests to the fact that no one violates another even under intense provocation. While it is accepted that given the benefits of the doubt this killing as it were, is unacceptable in a civilised society without proves and emperical facts alluding to the alleged acts of kidnaping, there are some serious implications brought to the fore that need to be addressed.

The reports say they were hunters? Hunters? Were they hunters truly crossing on hunting expedition. From where to where? These queries need to be established by the security and Intelligence departments.

More disturbing is the mention of Dangote Company. Its involvement in the entire set up. It is pertinent that Dangote Management be reined in on this issues. For all that one knows today, Dangote Management is reputed to be conveyor of merchandise being manufactured by Dangote companies, certainly not of arms and ammunition. The Management is to explain the involvement of its trucks been an accessory to convey arms. Have the company’s vehicles been certified by the security agencies to ferry guns across states of the Federation aside of cements and the household commodities?Is the company not complicit in providing services to criminal elements of Northern stocks evading every part of Nigeria clandestinely?

While on this, further light needs to be shed to establish the criteria for licensing hunters on cross- border or states hunting expeditions. While it may be a free country where every citizen is safe, free and secured to practice their business and vocations, it leaves so much bile that national gaslighting has to be carried out by just petty criminals putting our national unity into question. The intent and purposes for such subjection to international disgrace have to be questioned. We need to take into consideration the various traditional and tribal understandings of different cultures and societies called nation Nigeria for re-examination and adequately evaluated.

With proper intelligence work embarked upon, it may be found out that something is not adding up here.

While the first does not hold waters, what about the second findings – huge sum of money in dollars and millions of Naira hidden in the truck? This could not be said to be proceeds of the games or sales from the market! How come?

I’m aware that in saner climes professional hunters are licensed and granted movement permits to cross boarder on hunting expedition, do such laws exist in Nigeria? Movement of these hunters needs to be established and if not, what are the safety guidelines to be provided by the authority saddled with this responsibility, particularly Ministry of Environment?

Other issues that have to be considered are:

• What are the classifications of guns permitted or granted to the hunters?

Nigeria public needs to know the market(s) in Port Harcourt where they normally sell their games and catches to determine the prospect of such venture!

All these face-saving ambivalence is fraught with deceit and deceitful camouflage. They have to be unveiled.

Recently, I wrote on the impudent nature of the Police to answer the audit query issued by the Senate on firearms missing in the armoury. There’s the need for accountability. In the wake of these killings across the country and with spurious claims of those elements masquerading as hunters and the concentration of an ethnic group seeing nothing wrong with destruction of farmlands for herds to graze and the killing of farm owners while they attempt to stop the intruders from further destruction of their crops being met with violence by these criminal Fulani elements, there should be answers to these claims. These felons are armed with sophisticated Ak-47 guns which they displayed openly to kill, maim and rape women brazenly without any reprisal from government. While these
go unchallenged, it is enough encouragement for these criminals to continue the massacre of innocent people.

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It has to be recalled that the communities in Edo North and Edo Central axis have been under these siege of Fulani criminals. They have subjected the young women to inhuman treatment while being raped by these criminals. Even underage girls in the presence of their parents and married women in the presence of their husbands were not spared. Reports of these criminals are known to security and Intelligence agencies in the area. Government did not come to the victims rescue. It was a bottled anger when the vigilante group and the youths resolved to secure their communities. Herders and kidnappers before the killing had taken for granted the communities in the areas would not protect themselves therefore were vulnerable anytime. It was always an harvest for them. Tell tales follow in the morning after the deed must have been done. I want to believe that the story changed this time and they suddenly became hunted.
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It should be recalled that General TY Danjuma (rtd) in 2018 on national television asked that Nigerians should be ready to defend themselves if the state had failed to act decisively to protect lives and properties.

Hear him; as a soldier, the best defence is attack. Right now, we are all sitting ducks. These people are armed to the teeth with weapons of mass destruction but we don’t have them. We have the numbers and the land belongs to us. They are trying to colonise us and take over our lands. Your majesty, you must unite our people to defend themselves. “I will not give you arms. Find out how the people who have it, got it and used the same means to acquire arms and defend yourselves. These beautiful land called Nigeria is been brought to ruin by absolutely useless criminals. How do they get here? We must find out the source of the arms of terrorists; Nigerians should equally find a means of arming themselves to face the terrorists,” he said.

He claimed that when he accused the military of collaborating with terrorists, he was labelled a liar, but Nigerians have finally realised the truth.

In my efforts to put these views across to the public, spirited attempts were made to inquire and search for where government licensed agents selling these sophisticated arms – the AK-47 and Kalash – are designated. I could not place a finger on any across the length and breadth of the country. This leaves a big question mark on the State of security and procurement of firearms in the country. We all know there’s proliferation of arms and ammunition which gradually has become exclusive preserve of an ethnic group!

The infamous call by the past administration of Buhari calling for surrender of arms and ammunition from the public has been a bane of the nation which l believe is the erroneous assumption of goodwill by the then government of nation. How effective did this affect those in whose hands mostly these weapons were found under the guise of grazing?

Methinks professional hunters are licensed to cross boarder on hunting games. They should be properly identified as such and more importantly, since people are not allowed to carry guns around, be structured and processed for proper identification and classification. It is still a thing of worry why these Fulani elements have become so audacious to carry guns in midst of people. They do it without any pretence. They boast about it when they are challenged.

They knew nothing would happen if you get them arrested. Orders would come from Abuja and before you know it, they are released. The fallout of Uromi may have signalled that government is ready to curtail abysmal and defective and none efficiency of the law enforcement agencies by the dismissal of one of the top rated officers in the handling of the Uromi killing. I think more needs to be done.

More attention also needs to be given to the issuance of gun permit by the Police.
Proliferation of firearms has undermined the security architecture of the country greatly. Those who should not be in possession are armed to the teeth especially by the politicians and their hanger-on. Touts and hooligans under the guise of being private security are issued with a local hunter license to bear arms by law enforcement officers. Through the unarticulated means permits fall into the into the hands of undesirable elements without due diligence.

The Uromi-Edo incident has set tongues wagging and people are beginning to interprete government steps on this issue from ethnic contextual prism –

• Fulani gun owner is a hunter…
• Edo gun owner is a cultist
• Yoruba gun owner is a thief
• Igbo gun owner is an “IPOB” member and a terrorist.
• Delta gun owner as a militant.

Fulani man with a gun – is for protection, other tribes caught with guns are criminals.

It is hoped that the swift response to the Uromi carnage will set a precedent for a decisive crackdown on these criminals, setting free abducted people and reclaiming the occupied lands by these terrorists. Let it not be that justice is not served across the nooks and crannies of the land…

Wither Nigeria!

Lanre Ogundipe
Public Affairs Analyst;
Former President Nigeria and African Union of Journalists
April 8, 2025.