The current spate of attacks on innocent Nigerians by the insurgents suspected to be Islamic extremists sect, Boko Haram has continued unabated across the country especially in the North East geo political zone. The most recent method being the capture of the 234 school children in Borno state leading to threat of their being allegedly married out at give away bride prices of between N2, 000 – N5,000 to the bordering countries of Cameroun, Niger and Chad. This we learnt reliably was a deliberate attempt by the Islamic sect to further Islamize the non-Muslim among the students since the government secondary school is predominately Christians. Barely two weeks after the bomb blast in Nyanya, a suburb of the Nigeria’s federal capital territory that claimed over 75 lives, another bomb went off almost at the same spot claiming another 19 lives. Nigeria is presently under intensive terror and siege. In addition to all of these are the sporadic attacks in the North Central states of Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue, Southern part of Kaduna and Taraba states, which are predominantly Christian States by “hired Fulani herdsmen.” The method of the attacks by these groups is quite different from what is known of the Boko Haram insurgents. Who are these Fulani herdsmen that are more sophisticatedly armed than our military? And who are their sponsors? These are the mind bugling questions agitating the minds of many people today.
There are now strong indications that the effort of the military and other security operatives against these undesirable elements in our society may not yield the desired results soon as some very powerful persons in the government are bent on making sure that the country remains “ungovernable” for President Goodluck Jonathan. These people are not prepared to co-operate with the federal government to find lasting solution to this menace, rather they have continued to fan the ember of religious and ethnic crisis by all means.
Adamawa state which is one of the states presently under emergency rule declared by the federal government would have presumably been considered the less attacked among these three states by the Boko Haram insurgents. But now the state might be gearing towards a full blown war soon, if not properly monitored by the Nigerian military with the spate of the influx of the Fulani mercenaries allegedly imported, and hired by Governor Murtala Hammanyero Nyako of Adamawa state into the state for reason known to only him. Adamawa State with all the advantages of a border state is presently been used as a launch pad for both the Boko Haram insurgency and the Fulani mercenaries to attack and destabilized Nigeria.
Investigations carried out by PowerSteering News Magazine revealed that no fewer than five hundred Fulani mercenaries trained in Sudan were imported into the state and are camped at the border village of Typsen in Toungo Local Government Area of Adamawa State on the instruction of the state governor. The Fulani men are kept at the expense of the state government, fed, well taken care of and paid a stipend of about N50,000.00 each monthly by the state government with the tax payers’ money.
According to our source, the Fulani men are well taken care of, fed thrice daily, well dressed, kitted, armed and equipped for the assignment for which they were brought in. The source further said that all these things and many more are funded through the village head of Typsen. The method is systematically applied to most villages where Fulani tribe are minorities but with Fulani men as village heads.
Although this development according to our source did not go down well with the paramount ruler of the area, the Gangwari Ganye, Alhaji Umaru Adamu Sanda, whose attempt to draw the attention of the state government, fell on deaf ears. It was at the point the Gangwari Ganye made the move to remove the Typsen village head that he discovered that it was the very state government itself that brought in the mercenaries into the state. He was afterwards reprimanded, and his position threatened by the state governor, Nyako himself.
A resident in the area who spoke under a condition of anonymity confirmed that since the arrival of these people to their area, the entire village and the surrounding have been thrown into confusion with virtually everyone living in fear as the Fulani’s movement has always been unpredictable and mostly at nights. One of the residents boasted that, “Though we are Chambs by tribe and we are not afraid of war but there is the need for us to be apprehensive of the presence of this strange people whose ways and mission are unknown to us.” “We are unable to speak out for the fear of the state machinery; Nyako is very vicious and vindictive.”
“We have drawn the attention of our village Head who has also informed our paramount ruler, but we have been watching and waiting without result, while these people are gaining grounds by the day” he added.
Our investigation further revealed that the importation of these Fulani men who are mostly from the neighbouring countries of Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Libya was facilitated by Governor Nyako to ferment trouble ahead of 2015 general elections aimed at dethroning President Goodluck Jonathan and enthroning a Northern Muslim as a president. Their agenda is said to be Arabization and Islamization of Nigeria by 2015 by all means. We were reliably informed that Gov. Nyako who has openly confessed his hatred for President Jonathan and his South-Southern and South-Eastern people with passion is bent on making the country ungovernable for him.
In a similar development, another group of Fulani mercenaries alleged to be imported into the state on the order of the same state governor, Murtala Nyako are also camped in Tambo village in Gerei Local Government Area of the state. PowerSteering investigation revealed after a visit that the youths of the area have threatened to chase them out of their land if nothing is urgently done about them. When contacted, the Chairman of the two Local Government Areas who are themselves Fulanis, as expected denied any knowledge of the presence of any strange group of Fulani men but added that the Fulani are nomadic by nature and could move in and out at will. He also emphasized that the people seen in their areas were those who have lived with them for a long time.
On the plans by the state government to use them to destabilize the 2015 general elections, the state Secretary of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Barrister A.T. Shehu said although he has not got any wind of the governor of the state camping some Fulani mercenaries in some parts of the state, but added that; “nobody is above the law and if anybody thinks he can use whatever means to destabilize the peace of the state before, during or after the forthcoming general elections, will face the wrath of the law.” He however urged the people of the state to be more vigilant and law abiding.
It will be recalled that few years back two trailer load of over one thousand illegal aliens were arrested along Garkida-Gombi road and prevented from going further into the country’s hinterland but when they were brought back to Yola, Governor Nyako had allegedly ordered their unconditional release and till date no one could say how they disappeared into the country.
There are other very strong allegations against Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State that his imported Sudan trained Fulani mercenaries are responsible for the incessant Fulani herdsmen attacks on Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Southern Kaduna and Benue states. It was revealed to PowerSteering that the murder of 12 Adazi, Igbomen from Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State by gunmen at a town hall meeting in Mubi were carried out at the order of Governor Nyako by the Fulani mercenaries. Sometimes last year, after killing these Igbomen, no meaningful investigation was carried out uptil date by Nyako’s government. Retrieving the bodies of these men was a herculean task for their kinsmen afterward. Gov. Nyako has never hidden his deep-seated hatred for a typical South-easterner. Nyako’s pronouncements and actions has further endangered and overwhelmed their survival and existence in the part of the North where Nyako holds sway. Nyako is allegedly fingered to be behind the current Wukani/Fulani herdsmen crisis. He has allegedly been accused of supplying the arms used in that crisis which are said to be of higher caliber than that of the Nigerian Armed Forces from his farm in Mayo Belwa. These Fulani mercenaries have four operational bases in Yola, Jos, Kaduna and Lafia from where they drive into their targeted places, operate and return to their bases within hours without being noticed. All operations carried out in Jos and Kaduna are said to be done from either of the cities while Benue attacks are done from Lafia in Nasarawa State. Both the groups in Yola and Lafia carry out the ongoing crisis in Wukari with re-enforcement from Jos, PowerSteering was reliably told.
PowerSteering News Magazine investigations equally revealed that Governor Nyako has been using his position as the governor of Adamawa State, a border state advantage to bring in foreigners from all over the West African sub-region into the country under the cover of a fellow Fulani man who needs Fulani herdsmen in his farm to work for him. He is alleged to have imported over five hundred Fulani mercenaries from North Africa to ferment trouble ahead of 2015 elections, and opened up the border for many more to come through Cameroun. He is also alleged to have used his multi billion naira, multi-purpose Sebore Farms situated in Mayo Belwa, Adamawa State as armoury (arms dumping ground) for the nefarious activities of the Fulani herdsmen targeted at Benue, Plateau and Southern Kaduna states specifically.
Sources informed this magazine that Nyako provided unsuspected, unmarked vehicles and unassuming logistics including hired Helicopters that usually supply the sophisticated armed Fulani herdsmen and mercenaries with ammunitions and food when they operated, attacked and terrorized Benue, Plateau and Southern Kaduna states. Such Hilux vehicles, he brought into the country through the borders are unsuspecting and do not necessarily look new, clean or distinct from the regular ones used around the country. Most time the vehicles look like commercial pick-ups. Other times, they look clean like government official vehicles but unmarked. These so-called Fulani herdsmen who sometimes are kitted in military uniforms have constantly terrorized these states and escaped un-apprehended, because of their mode of operation. Their operational bases are usually less than five hour drive to their targets and they could attack at night and get back same night to their bases.
Governor Murtala Nyako, PowerSteering learnt has a very strong rapport with some guerilla mercenaries in the neighbouring countries of Cameroun, Niger, Chad, Mali and Sudan that are brought in to Nigeria from time to time for specific assignments. It was one of such groups that he used for the killing of those 12 Igbo men at Mubi, it was alleged. As an ex-military officer, he is alleged to have been in constant touch with some of these men under the cover of being a big time Nigerian farmer and the advantage of a border state governor allows him access to those countries at will. He is alleged to have been travelling across the borders to those countries constantly in collaboration with the Lamido of Adamawa who himself is a former Customs officer at will and seem to know so much about the causes of the current insurgency in the country especially in the North-East geo-political zone. At the head of each operational base, Nyako has allegedly employed Nigerian retired military men as commanders to man the bases.
For sometimes now, Nyako in his self-imposed political misstep and misadventure has been at the forefront of all attempts to destabilise and destroy People’s Democratic Party (PDP) by creating a faction known as the new PDP. He was also alleged to have boasted publicly in reaction to the rampage of the Fulani herdsmen that now that the Fulani herdsmen can assemble, handle and operate AK47 gun, ‘the security equilibrium in the country is now balanced.’
Nyako who has succeed in neutralizing the political strength of his godfather, Jubril Aminu has finally destroyed every structure built by the former PDP chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, which was the reason former President Olusegun Obasanjo actually brought him into politics of Adamawa to demystify Atiku Abubakar and his political ambition.
Only recently, Governor Nyako had also accused the military and indeed the federal government of President Goodluck Jonathan of full-fledged genocide in “Northern Nigeria.” Governor Nyako wrote a memo to mobilize Northern Governors against President Goodluck Jonathan which also drew widespread condemnation from all over the country, cutting across religious and political affiliations. In his not-so-subtle theme of his letter to his fellow Northern governors, the strong wordings of the letter suggested that Boko Haram is a tool in the hands of the Nigerian government under President Jonathan, a Southerner to destabilize the North which he claimed is not the president’s interest.
His letter literally called on the Northerners to exterminate the Easterners from their geo-political zone. He hurriedly blew the trumpets of war asking the Northerners to quickly react to the supposed genocide going on in the region.
Unchecked, Nyako’s rhetoric has started igniting raw emotions and could erode whatever gains the country may have made since the coup and counter coup of 1966 he alluded to.
With the benefit of hindsight, Nyako also forgot that his alleged actions of importing and inciting the Fulani herdsmen; his own kinsmen against other tribes, who are supposed to be their fellow Northern Nigerians whom he is seen to be protecting and speaking for in his letter is itself destructive and inimical to the survival of the north. And even the alleged importation of foreign Fulani mercenaries amount to greater genocide than what he is accusing others of? Nyako has allegedly committed greater genocide than any other person in this case today. Has he forgotten the number of people killed in Plateau, Kaduna South, Benue, Nasarawa and even the on-going war in Wukari? Are these places not part of the North?
Now that the causalities on the side of the Boko Haram has risen after the visit of the Service Chiefs to the hot spots of Borno and Adamawa. Nyako has suddenly become too uncomfortably and apprehensive fearing that they might get at him soon, he has decided to cry out aloud. At that time the Boko Haram was gaining the upper hands, Nyako never complained until now. He has at some time also allegedly protested the appointment of Air Marshal Alex Badeh who hails from his state as the Chief of Defence Staff and tried so hard to spoil the Air Force General’s record in the Armed Forces. President Goodluck Jonathan’s appointment of Air Marshal Alex Badeh may have taken Nyako by surprise and till date he has not recovered from the shock especially now that the Armed Forces has embarked on air bombardment of the crisis prone areas of North-East.
Early this year the same Gov. Nyako who had lashed at the Nigerian military for their negligence in the handling and tackling the problem of Boko Haram insurgency, was allegedly attacked by gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram. If it was that easy, why did he not launch a counter-attack on just two gunmen as an ex-military officer?
Unknown gunmen at Shuwa Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State while visiting the victims of an attack to sympathize with them attacked Nyako on a Friday. It was gathered that the moment the governor took the microphone to address the sad and broken people; two men in military uniform came out of nowhere and shot three times into the air. Could these have been militants sent from Niger Delta by President Jonathan to attack him? Why was he not killed? And how and why did these two armed men overpower his retinue of security details? These were the questions that came to the minds of many Nigerians. It was discovered in the course of our investigations that in a build-up to his claim of genocide in Northern Nigeria, Governor Nyako had tried to chronicle such past incidences that would lay credence to his claim of genocide and assassinations attempts made at him. And those incidences in his own domain were some of the ready evidences he was armed with to justify his claims.
Similarly, sometimes in April, 2013 heavily armed gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram attacked Nyako’s hometown of Mayo-Belwa, killing two policemen, attacking government agencies, banks and the people. This incidence which occurred just two weeks after gunmen attacked the deputy governor, James Bala Ngilari’s house in Madagali Local Government Area, claimed lives of two policemen, while the younger brother of the governor, Mallam Inusa Isa Hammanyero and nine others were severely injured and not killed during the attack. We later gathered that some mercenaries from the border towns earlier hired by Nyako to do some dirty jobs for him did not get paid so they came back to terrorize him and to demand for their payment. In all of these, only government agents – Policemen to be specific were killed. Why has Gov. Nyako not seen the danger posed by the insurgents in the North-East geo-political zone but only to now turn around and make this unsubstantiated genocide claim against the military. Are all these attempts to incite the Northern Governors against President Goodluck Jonathan? Many have wondered which North he could be speaking for, when part of the very North now bears the brunt of the incessant attacks of Nyako’s incited herdsmen. Many still wonder how Murtala Nyako made it to the peak of his military career as Chief of Naval Staff and later Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (a position specially created from only him) without his true person being revealed.
An analyst who spoke in a condition of anonymity said “The parochial sentiment being thrown up by certain group of people, claiming that it is the “North” way of making Nigeria “ungovernable” for President Jonathan could be true but does not represent the interest of the whole North but the interest of a certain political and religious groups. Nyako couldn’t have been speaking for the North knowing that he is allegedly behind some of the incessant attacks and killings by the Fulani herdsmen whom he is alleged to be spearheading their course and routing for a jihad; the unfinished work of Usman Dan Fodio.” The very North are the same people that suffer most in the hands of the Fulani herdsmen whom Nyako is sponsoring. Consider for a while what has happened in Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Benue and Taraba and you will be amazed what harm Murtala Nyako has done to the so-called “North” he claims to be speaking for. Which North? Except perhaps the likes of Benue, Taraba, Plateau and Southern Kaduna have been excluded from the “North” in question.”
“How could Nyako be so certain that there is simply no person in the North-East rich enough to fund the financial and logistic bills of Boko Haram? Why the haste to look outside the zone which Boko Haram issue predates President Jonathan assumption of office? Or does he know the Boko Haram operating cost? Nyako must know more than we think he knows.”
Governor Nyako is described by many Adamawa indigenes as a ‘tribalist’, a religious bigot, primordially sentimental ruler who would do anything humanly possible to promote the agenda of himself, his family, his own kinsmen over and above the interest of his state as a whole. “His appointments to political positions in the state are alleged to be mostly based on tribe and religion. You must meet these requirements to get any meaningful appointment in the state.”
In the February, 2013 edition of PowerSteering News Magazine, we published some conspiracy theories that engulfed and killed Governor Ibrahim Yakowa of Kaduna State, General Andrew Azazi, the late NSA and the aircrash of Governor Suntai of Taraba State at Yola, under Nyako’s nose.
In that publication, PowerSteering revealed how some top politicians from the Northern part of this country had planned to ‘Arabinize’ and Islamize the Northern region beginning with the elimination of the four Christian governors of Suntai of Taraba, Yakowa of Kaduna, Jang of Plateau and lastly Suswan of Benue in that order. If the theories were anything to go by, PowerSteering had published that the plan was in preparation for 2015 to have all Muslim governors in the North even before the elections.
The strongest indictment was how Governor Suntai of Taraba was wickedly trapped in Yola airport by the conspiracy of these Northern political leaders that Governor Murtala Nyako was allegedly part of. The plan was to have Gov. Suntai summarily killed to pave way for his Muslim deputy to take-over. The conspiracy theory also alleged that Murtala Nyako as a retired military officer was involved in the inside workings of how the Helicopter piloted by Naval Officer killed both Yakowa; one of the Christian Northern governors and Azazi, who was previously accused by the north of importing arms to his Niger Delta home to kill the northerners was sabotaged. Gov. Nyako still have able men and officers in the ranks and files of all the armed forces who are loyal and still carry out his orders till date.
According to the theory earlier published by PowerSteering News Magazine, that the attempt on Suntai was first but failed, Governor Jonah Jang would have been the third to be killed after Yakowa’s death through an armbushment on his way to the airport or to Abuja by Nyako’s Fulani mercenaries. Then lastly, men planted at the Air Force base in Makurdi, Benue State, would have also killed Governor Gabriel Suswan, which the conspiracy theory revealed, the same way.
PowerSteering source further revealed that the Camerounian government’s refusal to fully co-operate with the Nigerian government in the fight against insurgency could not have been unconnected with the intrigue of Governor Nyako’s Adamawa state government’s involvement in so many border complicities. The Camerounian government knows the level of involvement of some top Nigerians in the on-going Boko Haram insurgency and would not want to be involved in the dirty politics of Nigeria. The Camerounians know how arms pass through their borders to Nigeria and also know the powerful Nigerians behind the syndicates. Moreover, some of them benefit from the Nigerian’s crisis directly or indirectly, so it is good business for their country.
In exchange for their role, the Camerounians involved in these deals are allegedly given tankers of petroleum products across the borders.
In 2008, two months after his re-election as the governor of Adamawa State, retired Admiral Murtala Hammanyero Nyako became the first state governor in the current dispensation to face impeachment when the Adamawa State House of Assembly voted to serve him with an impeachment notice, which was signed by 20 out of 25 House Members. It accused him of committing “acts of gross misconduct, abuse of office and fraudulent spending of public funds.”
In that attempt by the PDP dominated 25-member state house of assembly members who were so uncomfortable with the trend of expenditure, fraud and abuse of law and due process by the state governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako since he was sworn into office in May of that year. The legislators cited section 188 of the 1999 constitution, which gave them powers to act the way they did. The legislators were commended for being proactive and shown commitment to save the state’s funds from being drained into Nyako’s purse.
Governor Nyako betrayed the trust and confidence reposed in him by the people of Adamawa state (assuming that the people even voted him into power at all) by personalizing the office of the Governor. He had at that time collected N141million from the coffers of the state for renovating his personal house without the work getting done. The same house has been renovated twice since then from the government purse. He also forced the state to purchase N42m seedlings from his Sebore Farms. The issue is that the prices of the seedlings were grossly overinflated. He also illegally and unconstitutionally set up an agency of government called special projects directorate and appointed his sons as Coordinators and further contravened section 42(1) (a) and (b) of the 1999 constitution by allegedly allowing the selection instead of election of candidates for local government council elections.
From the above charges put up as reasons for the impeachment notice, one could have confidently said without any iota of doubt that Nyako had infringed on the constitution and should be impeached. And as lawmakers, the legislators had vowed to enforce total compliance of the constitution, which they swore to defend and protect at all costs no matter, whose ox is gored.
It was therefore ironic that the late President Yar’adua convened a meeting of all stakeholders in the Adamawa crisis at the presidential Villa on a Wednesday to pressurize the assemblymen into abandoning a matter that was purely seen to be a constitutional breach by the governor. We were reliably told that late President Yar’Adua used his influence based purely on ethnic and religious (as Fulani and a Muslim) to convince the people that if Nyako was removed, his deputy James Ngilari, a non-Hausa/Fulani and a Christian would take over. Newspapers reported that Nyako, the Speaker of the state assembly, James Barka, PDP national Chairman and his Deputy had a closed door meeting with late President Yar’adua with handsome offers and killed the process of impeaching Nyako for fraud, forgery, corruption and an infringement on rule of law. Today the same Nyako is strong enough to cause this country to break-up. “ The old man has refused to grow up,” concluded a stakeholder from Adamawa.