Helicopter Terrorists Amidst Docile Citizenry

Emmanuel Onwubiko

“Terrorism works better as a tactic for dictatorships, or for would-be dictators, than for revolutionaries.” – Christopher Hitchens

“The hallmark of an authoritarian idiot, is yelling Terrorist-Lover! at anyone questioning the definition of Terrorist.” – Glenn Greenwald

The complaint over the emergence of terrorists flying in military helicopters to rain down bullets on poor and undefended local villagers in Nigeria, didn't start today. These helicopter terrorists have been seen somewhere in the deep forests of Delta State, by some natives. The helicopter flying terrorists appeared somewhere not far away from the restive but rustic town of Kafanchan, the heart of the Christian dominated Southern Kaduna State in the North West of Nigeria.

By the way, in Zamfara State just approximately some few metres to Katsina State, armed bandits as they were then known, but since declared terrorists by the Federal High Court, Abuja division, shot down a military jet leading to the emergency ejection of the fighter Pilot who could have been killed, but for the swift intervention of villagers in Zamfara State.

That military jet worth several millions of dollars bought from public treasury, was devastated and destroyed by the armed bandits, but President Muhammadu Buhari simply made a drab Press statement through the noisy Garba Shehu ranting, that the terrorists would be taught a lesson.

Weeks turned into months, and months have almost evolved into a year, since these Fulani terror gangsters of the North West shot down the military jet, but the Armed Forces of Nigeria have yet to take them on, apparently waiting for final order from their Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari who hails from Daura in Katsina State, one of the frontline terrorised States in the North of Nigeria.

Recent Attack in Kaduna State

Sensing the lethargic and poor approach adopted by the Government against their daredevil activities, the armed Fulani terrorists have graduated to ownership of fighter helicopters which they now deploy to attack many soft targets, and Southern Kaduna is Kajuru Local Council in Southern Kaduna, have narrated how a helicopter shelled their villages while they were fighting the invaders.

They narrated their ordeal when they visited the President of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Jonathan Asake, at the Union’s National Secretariat in Kaduna.

The villagers, led by Rev. Denis Sani of First Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Maikori, said they were at SOKAPU Secretariat to seek assistance for the starving communities, and to brief the President on the tragedy that befell the villages in Kajuru.

“It was around noon on June 5, while we were in the church, that we got information that armed Fulani herdsmen were attacking Dangoma and nearby villages. We hastily rounded off our prayers and came out. We then heard that they were in large numbers and heading towards Maikori”, he told the SOKAPU President.

“We called for reinforcements, and all the youths came out and we laid ambush for them. We evacuated our women, children and elderly into hiding. In no time, we saw them. They were in large number on scores of motorcycles, each carrying three turbaned herdsmen who all had AK-47 rifles.”

According to him, when the herdsmen were getting close to them, they fired their Dane guns at the invaders.

“Upon hearing our gunshots, the leader of the armed herdsmen raised his left hand, and came to an abrupt halt. The rest also stopped”, he said.

Rev. Sani further remarked that, the killer herders dismounted from the motorcycles and started responding.

But, since the villagers were already undercover, they had an upper hand, and the killer herdsmen started retreating, the Guardian learnt.

“Eventually, we saw a helicopter coming towards Maikori, and we were happy that help had come”, Sani said.

He pointed out that they were shocked to discover that the white helicopter started firing in their direction, even when the motorcycles of the assailants, their positions and mode of dressing, marked them out clearly.

“I saw my people running for dear lives, and some were falling. I also ran. It was not possible to face the armed Fulani and the bullets from the helicopter, so we ran for dear lives”, he noted.

While they escaped, the herdsmen reportedly entered Maikori, and started burning homes.

His words: “As they were burning houses, the helicopter was hovering over the village to defend them from our returning. They took three good hours burning every structure in Maikori, except three or four houses that do not have any valuables.

“My church, First ECWA in Maikori, was burnt to ashes. My house and everything I ever worked for, went with the flames. I only came out with what I am wearing. As of now, I cannot tell you exactly how many people were killed from that

This article by discusses the issue of alleged attacks on innocent Nigerians by terrorists flying in helicopters and raining down bullets on hapless citizens, particularly the recent incident in Southern Kaduna which has been a subject of controversy between the Kaduna State Government and the victims of the alleged attacks. He stresses that it is time for Government to be up and doing, to annihilate these helicopter terrorists as a matter of urgency, to avert dire consequences for Nigeria

attack, because we are still picking bodies in the bushes. But, 32 persons have been buried. Other villages that were attacked earlier that day by the same killers are Sabon Gida, Unguwan Sarki and Dogon Noma.”

But, in what has become a recurring decimal in Kaduna State's Government circles, the terrorists' tolerant administration in Kaduna rolled out the propaganda machines to tackle the victims of these latest terrorist shelling from the air, just as the Government in a very ridiculous and ludicrous fashion, turned logic on its head by asserting that the helicopter which the victims alluded to that attacked them, was actually a jet belonging to the Airforce which came to the rescue of those same victims and not as the victims claimed.

What can be more unbelievable than that? It's like telling a man attacked with hot water, that it was ice cold water that was poured on him. So, how many of the terrorists were killed? Not one of those terrorists were killed. Why are the Kaduna State Government officials so shameless, and can very easily tell barefaced, but illiterate lies?

This is because, adults who were attacked, shelled, injured and some killed, the survivors who are lucky to have emerged unscathed are telling their own story, and the Government which failed to do its primary constitutional duty of protecting the people and their hard earned property, was rather busy defending terrorists only because the terrorists share same ethnicity and faith affiliations with the Governor of Kaduna State. How long will these shenanigans and dancing naked in the sun by Kaduna State Government officials, continue? Is there no limit to wickedness? Who wants the Christian community in the North destroyed? Is this why they don't want a Christian Northerner to be nominated as running mate to the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress?

The only reason that has emboldened the Kaduna State Government to behave like State sponsors of terrorists, is because the Nigerian public are silenced and shut up by Governmentimposed impoverishment and the weaponisation of hunger by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration since coming on board≠≠ more than seven years ago, through cocktails of criminally hatched and poorly delivered economic policies including the policy of donating millions of United States Dollars to Niger Republic.

Accountability & Responsibility: Rt. Reverend Samuel Uche’s Experience Anyway, the focus here is that, Nigerians have still not demanded accountability from their elected government public officials, on the credible claims that terrorists have started flying helicopters to attack communities in Southern Kaduna, Owo in Ondo State, and a part of Delta State deep in the Niger Delta crude oil rich region.

Any wonder that it is not out of place, as was said by the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria Rt. Reverend Samuel Uche, that Government is responsible for insecurity across Nigeria. The clergyman had just survived a violent kidnapping by armed Fulani terrorists, and came out alive after payment of N100 million in ransom. Asked to narrate his experience just after it emerged that he was kidnapped by armed Fulani herdsmen, aided by soldiers. He said that what the terrorists did, has nothing to do with IPOB. It was clear kidnapping by Fulani herdsmen because their cattle were very close there, manned by some people.

Asked by an eagle eyed media practitioner about who should be blamed for the insecurity in Nigeria, these were his words from his heart: “I don’t blame any government, but I blame the leadership in government, the Bible says that when the righteous are in authority the people will rejoice, but when the unrighteous are in authority the people groan. Are we not groaning? Are you eating well? Do you have all the money you made? Are you paid all the salaries? What is happening with ASUU? What is happening with NASU? What is happening with Labour? That means unrighteous administration”.

The Prelate spoke up further: “Some of them are stark illiterates, only one was communicating fluently; and I guess that the way he spoke, maybe he went to a level above secondary school, and that was the one that claimed he was born in Umuahia. He said he was born at Amazukwu, Ibeku. You can’t look at their knives or guns. When they went to collect the ransom, they brought in more people, who were hidden somewhere with more guns. People saw one boy at the front of the military checkpoint, so our man wanted to harass him, what are you doing here, who are you? The military man said no, no, leave him, he is our boy, and he came to drop something for us. And, it is the same military that says to people, if you cross this line, I will fire you, don’t go to the bush. So, why are they shielding the people? Why are they shielding them? Some people have a plan to do something in this county, there is a plan, they are planning, but only God will foil it”.

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State

Few days after these earth shaking revelations by Prelate of the Nigerian Methodist Church, in which he established a nexus between Fulani terrorists and Army saboteurs aiding and abetting terrorists, the attack in which helicopter was used to drop foodstuffs to armed Fulani terrorists in Owo Forests in Ondo State happened in a packed Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State in which many worshippers, including children, were killed by armed Fulani terrorists.

Just when Nigerians have hardly removed their mourning clothes, another set of helicopter flying terrorists struck in Southern Kaduna as aforementioned.

So, why does anyone doubt, when victims of terror attacks come out to state clearly that helicopter shooters attacked them in Kajuru? What gain is there for them to say they saw terrorists flying in a helicopter and unleashing torrents of bullets in their direction? Assuming the helicopter was that of the Air Force as stated by the Kaduna State Government officials, since there is no credible fact about the terrorists killed by the Air Force helicopter and the poor villagers have now said the helicopter actually shot at them, does this then mean there’s an active partnership between the Air Force of Nigeria and Fulani terrorists? Because shortly after the helicopter attacked the victims of terrorist attack, these same attackers still proceeded to burn down houses and Churches without the helicopter, and succeeded in forcing them to retreat. This is a clear justification of the attestation made by these victims, unless credible evidence is made otherwise available.

Chief Gani Adams’ Perspective

If the Southern Kaduna victims of terror attacks are deluded, maybe they haven't seen a helicopter before (which isn't the case anyway, because thousands of Southern Kaduna indigenes were educated in Western civilisations), can we also say that Yorubas connived with Northerners in Southern Kaduna to say helicopter flying terrorists aided the terrorists that bombed the innocent Roman Catholic worshippers in Owo, Ondo State recently? The Aare Onakakanfo

“Burying these cases of sophisticated terrorism under the carpet is not only the institutionalisation of impunity, but it signposts a nation whose populace have long gone to sleep, and are in a deep coma of docility”