Islamist attack in Nigeria kills nearly a dozen Christians and police

Islamist insurgents reportedly killed about a dozen locals in Nigeria’s Benue State. According to local officials and eyewitness reports, more than 200 Islamist Fulani Ethnic Militia (IFEM) guerillas attacked the village of Ayilamo the night of Sept. 10, killing at least seven Christian villagers, including two children, and four police officers.

The Nigerian Police Force confirmed that law enforcement personnel “successfully repelled a large-scale armed bandits’ attack on Ayilamo Community, forcing the assailants to retreat into the forest with heavy casualties.”

Ayilamo Security Committee Secretary Umishi Terungwa said that victims of the Fulani attack included “respected elders, community members, and security personnel.”

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According to a report from Truth Nigeria, military personnel stood down during the attack, despite multiple phone calls made to the nearby military base requesting assistance. The police were responsible for repelling the IFEM guerillas. One eyewitness cited in the report credited the bravery of the local police with preventing a “massacre,” and others said that the police fought against the attackers for at least an hour.

Tombo Precinct Security Secretary Manasseh Umishi, who witnessed the attack, said that the IFEM assailants carried automatic weapons and machetes and cried out, “Allahu Akbar,” while attacking the village.

“I narrowly escaped death because I hid myself on the rooftop but I saw all that was happening,” he said, according to Truth Nigeria. “I heard the attackers speaking Fulani language and chanting Allahu Akbar while shooting and macheting our people.”

The nearby military base was staffed by Operation Whirl Stroke, a military detachment specifically deployed to combat and prevent violence in the region. The military’s failure to respond to the attack has prompted calls for local police forces to replace military presence.

Clement Kav, chairman of Logo County, has petitioned the state and national governments to replace military bases in the region with rapid-response police forces.

“This is not the first time military personnel stationed at Ayilamo and Ugba have failed to respond to armed Fulani terrorist invasions,” he said.

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Nigeria's newly minted Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu recently voiced his support for a constitutional amendment empowering the creation of state police forces, which could be staffed by locals who know the population and terrain. Disu's support for the provision comes amid continued criticisms that national forces are slow to respond to the onslaught of violence against civilians.