Defence Headquarters refutes report of massive killings, destruction of property in Benue

The Defence Headquarters on Friday denied media reports of massive killings and destruction of houses and other property by the military in Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State

In a statement, Acting Director Defence Information, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu said there had been incessant cases of communal clashes in recent times between the people of Konshisha and Oju over boundary demarcation.

He said as part of efforts to resolve the crisis, the Benue State Government held a series of meetings with stakeholders from both local governments with a view to arriving at amicable solution to the problem.

Nwachukwu said appreciable progress had been made and a final date fixed for all stakeholders to meet in the disputed areas to fully demarcate the boundary so that peace could reign.

He said trouble however started on the eve of the final meeting during Easter holiday, with reports that fresh fighting had broken out in the area.

Nwachukwu said all along, 72 Special Forces Battalion had troops deployed in the Oju side of the boundary and troops of the Battalion were on their way to replenish their colleagues on 5 April 2021, when they were attacked by bandits at Bonta in Konshisha.

He said the troops who were under the command of a Captain were seized at a checkpoint mounted by the so called “Bonta Boys” and taken into Konshisha forest where they were all brutally murdered.

Nwachukwu said not satisfied with killing the soldiers, the bandits proceeded to burn all the eleven soldiers and their officer beyond recognition while their weapons and ammunition were carted away.

He said the military reinforcements were dispatched to Bonta the following morning, adding that unfortunately, the reinforcement also came under attack from close to 500 armed youths who by this time had fully occupied Bonta.

Nwachukwu said the sheer number of youths involved in the attacks suggested that the bandits could not be from Bonta alone, but were joined by bandits from other parts of Konshisha Local Government Area.

He said the military repelled the attack after more than four hours of intense fighting during which military helicopter provided close air support to ground troops.

Nwachukwu said ten bandits were killed during the fight with the rifle of one of the Killed in action soldiers recovered from the bandits who fell casualty during the exchange of fire.

He said apart from this initial 10 bandits, there were no other civilian casualties recorded in any part of Konshisha till date.

Nwachukwu challenged anybody from Konshisha to present to the public the 200, 70 or 30 dead bodies of innocent persons, male, female or children killed by troops in Konshisha.

He said there was never a massacre as being touted by some mischief makers, adding that the remnants of the bandits that escaped from Bonta withdrew into neighbouring villages where they kept on attacking troops as they continued with the search operation through Bonta into other parts of Konshisha.

Defence Headquarters spokesperson said knowing the implications of killing troops in cold blood, most of the villagers fled their homes which were then occupied by bandits who kept firing at troops from the settlements as they advanced into Konshisha.

He said troops repelled the attacks and destroyed the houses and other buildings which the criminals used as hideout for the attacks.

Nwachukwu said the use of abandoned settlements by bandits to attack troops was popular with insurgents and the aim was to draw military fire into the dwellings and then turn round to blame soldiers for the destruction.

He said this was common guerilla tactics bandit designed to whip up public sentiments against security forces and this was what played out in Konshisha.

He said this accounted for some of the burnt houses being reported in the press.

Some of the phones of the dead soldiers were also tracked to some of the settlements, according to him.

“We should therefore blame the bandits for the destruction since they used these settlements as hideout for attacks. It will be wrong to blame soldiers who are in Konshisha on legitimate duties when some of them were murdered in cold blood. Some of the buildings being paraded today were actually burnt during earlier communal clashes between Konshisha and Oju, all of which the sponsors of the mayhem are now blaming on the military.

“The Defence Headquarters wishes to state that soldiers deployed to Konshisha displayed commendable restraints by adhering to the rules of engagement in the face of unprovoked attacks and therefore deserve accolades. In addition to the return of all carted away weapons, the local leaders of Konshisha must bring the main actors responsible for the mayhem to security forces to face justice.

“They must also surrender all other weapons in their possession. The military will not tolerate the jungle justice attitude and dastardly acts leading to the gruesome murder of patriotic soldiers on legitimate duty to keep the peace.

“We look forward to working with the Benue State Government in its promise to support security forces in fishing out those fomenting trouble in Konshisha. Once again, there is no massacre in Konshisha and the stories making the rounds are fabricated by bandits and their sponsors to smear the military after murdering troops in cold blood,” he added