The Defence Headquarters, Abuja, has blamed the recent wave of violent attacks in Benue, Plateau and other regions on foreign herders who have infiltrated the country through its porous borders.
The statement comes amid escalating concerns over continuous attacks by armed herders on farming communities.
Hundreds have been killed and thousands displaced, with many victims now in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.
Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State had earlier attributed the violence to foreign herders exploiting the ECOWAS protocol on free movement to cross into Nigeria and terrorise rural communities.Travel guides
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, while speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, stated that the identities, languages, and appearances of the attackers indicate they are not Nigerians.
“Well, when you hear them talk in some instances, you will be able to decipher whether these people are from here or not,” Kangye said.
“For instance, if I speak Hausa and my brother from the South East speaks Hausa, you’ll know that this Hausa is a borrowed one and Hausa language like any other language has different versions and intonations.”Travel guides
He emphasised the linguistic and physical differences of the attackers, noting, “The Hausa language we speak in Nigeria is different from that of Mali, Central African Republic, and Ghana.”
Kangye added that beyond language, their physical appearance is a giveaway.
“So when we arrest these herders and terrorists from the way they speak, it is clear and even from their hair, you will tell that they are not from Nigeria,” he said.
“I think the only community in Nigeria that has hair similar to the Shuwa in the Sahel region is probably the Shuwa Arabs in Borno State, but they don’t even have the same.”
Kangye acknowledged that while some Nigerian herders had been involved in farmer-herder conflicts, the most severe violence had been perpetrated by foreign elements.
“There are some herders that are Nigerians that also get involved in the process of rearing their cows. Then they encroach into these farms and then before you know it conflict ensued between the farmers and the herders, and these are the issues we are trying to solve,” he stated.
“But know that most of the violence and incessant killings you are hearing in some parts of this country are perpetrated by mostly those that find their way into the country through our porous borders.”
He called for stronger inter-agency collaboration to tighten border control and monitor entry points into Nigeria.
Kangye also highlighted recent military successes in the fight against insecurity, announcing the arrest of a notorious gunrunner and kidnapping kingpin, Buhari Umar, responsible for terrorising communities across Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau, and Kaduna states.
