…insists he’s in his house
- May his soul rest in peace, Gov Al-Makura maintains
- ‘How he killed 100 policemen, SSS operatives’
Ariveting drama is currently playing out in Nasarawa State, following anxiety over the whereabouts of Baba Alakyo, the Ombatse shrine’s dreaded priest, reputed to have killed over 100 armed security men way back in 2013, using magical powers.
Baba Alakyo (real name, Lega Agu) was reputed as law to himself in Alakyo village where he had been based and could not be brought to justice by government or anyone for that matter.
But two weeks ago, the Nasarawa State Governor, Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, stirred up a fresh controversy on the feared priest, when he insinuated at a public function that Baba Alakyo was dead, with the phrase, “May his soul rest in peace.”
He dropped the bombshell at Lafia, the state capital, while distributing relief materials to locals from crisis-ridden communities in the state.
Besides, the governor also tasked all those present at the event to pray for the repose of Baba Alakyo’s soul, a statement, which implied that the spiritual warlord was dead.
While virtually everyone in government circles in the state told The Point that Baba Alakyo was dead, that ‘the governor has confirmed it,’ most of Baba Alakyo’s loyalists and admirers in their reaction, challenged Governor Al-Makura to produce evidence that ‘Baba is dead.’
It was learnt that security agents told the governor that the dreaded priest was killed during a raid on Alakyo village by some Fulani herdsmen.
But the Legal Adviser to the Ombatse Shrine, Mr. Zachari Zamani Alumaga, in a statement, denied that his principal was dead, saying, “Baba Alakyo is very much alive.”
Nobody will agree that Baba is dead because he looms larger than life and will not be buried like a dog. Therefore, he is still alive and has probably relocated to a different location
WHO IS BABA ALAKYO?
The name ‘Baba Alakyo’ had been a household one in Nasarawa State, and indeed in the North-Central geo-political zone of the country, as he is reputed for fetish powers and magic, which defy all lethal attacks.
Baba Alakyo, the fetish priest of Ombatse shrine, garnered an unusual fame in the annals of Nigerian history, if not in world history, when he reportedly deployed his superstitious powers on May 7, 2013 to massacre over 100 riot police officers and State Security Service officials who were on official duty at the priest’s village, Alakyo, a few kilometers away from Lafia, the state capital.
Consequent upon the massacre, Governor Al-Makura had condoled with former President Goodluck Jonathan and the security high commands in the country over the loss of the security personnel who were performing their legitimate duties in the state. The governor also condoled with the families of the slain officers.
Irked by the gory scenario at Alakyo village, mobile policemen and widows of the policemen that were slaughtered at the Ombatse shrine barricaded the Lafia –Akwanga Road for several hours, registering their grievances over the killings of their colleagues and spouses, respectively.
The situation compelled motorists and other road users plying the federal highway from either side of Abuja or Makurdi to remain stagnant for hours, as there was a gridlock on the road.
Among the massacred policemen was an Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, simply identified as Mommoh, who was said to be the first person to be ‘gunned down’ by the superstitious power of Baba Alakyo. The priest, it was learnt, consequently dismembered parts of the police officer’s abdominal cavity, for reasons best known to him.
It was gathered that the majority of the policemen who went on the misadventure were those affected in the recent mass transfer exercise carried out by the Nasarawa State Police Command to other states.
When our correspondent visited the Dalhatu Specialist Hospital, DASH, Lafia, at the peak of the crisis, 10 ambulances were seen filled with corpses of the slaughtered policemen, as the mortuary of the hospital could not contain the number of corpses brought in by the police force.
It was learnt that the governor was told by security agents that the dreaded priest was killed during a raid on Alakyo village by some Fulani herdsmen
FAILED EFFORTS TO ARREST HIM
Amid public outrage over Baba Alakyo’s atrocity, Al-Makura quickly set up a judicial commission of inquiry to probe the unprovoked massacre.
During the commission’s sitting, the fetish priest was invited to testify, but the spiritual leader shunned the commission.
The venue of the commission’s sitting, Chief Magistrate’s Court III, Lafia, was filled to capacity, as both the commission’s officials and members of the general public waited in vain for over five hours for the arrival of Baba Alakyo. He did not show up.
Meanwhile, security was beefed up in almost all parts of the state capital in anticipation of the coming of the fetish priest from his ancestral village.
Policemen were seen carrying with them arms at strategic places, while an armoured personnel carrier was stationed at the court premises.
Baba Alakyo was billed to appear and testify before the commission following an allegation that he had masterminded the killings of security operatives, made up of the Nigeria Police and State Security Service, SSS, in his Alakyo village.
DEAD OR ALIVE?
As the quest to get Baba Alakyo reprimanded constitutionally heated up, and barely 24 hours after Governor Al-Makura marked ‘a day of peace’ in the state, gunmen, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, reportedly attacked Alakyo village at about 3am. It was alleged that the spiritual leader of the Ombatse shrine was killed during the attack, suspected to have been executed by the Fulani mercenaries.
THOSE WHO BELIEVE HE IS DEAD
Due to the controversies surrounding the possible death of the once popular spiritualist, The Point went across Nasarawa State to unravel the disputed death of the dreaded sect leader.
First to speak was a man from the fetish priest’s nationality, Mr. Abimiku Bawa, who concluded that Baba Alakyo might have been killed during the invasion of the Alakyo village by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.
Bawa narrated that the information they got from the invasion revealed that the attackers rode to the village on horses as they were armed to the teeth and succeeded in slaying the fetish priest.
Speaking in the same vein, Malam Usman Garba Yusuf, another resident, was optimistic that Baba Alakyo was really dead. “By my perception, anybody that died does not come back to the world again.
He is really dead, hence there is a relatively peaceful atmosphere hovering over Nasarawa State at present. To be candid, the demise of the Ombatse cult priest has brought significant peace to the Nasarawa people,” he said.
Mr. Jacob Sunday also suggested that if Baba Alakyo had been alive, he would have shown his face. He said, “I believe that the fetish priest had since died. My conviction that Baba Alakyo died is hinged on the news that he (Baba Alakyo) was killed in a battle field during a fierce crossfire between him and some soldiers who came along with unknown gunmen to his country-home (Alakyo village). “Since then, he has not shown himself to the world that he is alive. You could also attest that since the pronouncement of his death, the entire state has been experiencing relative peace.”
‘HE IS ALIVE, HALE AND HEARTY’
In a swift reaction to the purported death of the spiritual leader, the Ombatse spiritual group made a statement to the effect that its spiritual leader, Lega Agu, commonly called Baba Alakyo, was alive, hale and hearty, contrary to speculations that he had been killed by Fulani mercenaries.
Legal adviser of the group, Alumaga, said Baba Alakyo was in his house and going about his normal business. When asked why the spiritual leader had not come out to refute the claim in person, Alumaga said the onus of proof was on those who claimed they had killed him. He countered further, saying Baba Alakyo would speak for himself when he so desired.
In the same vein, a member of the Alakyo community, Mr. Aloysius Anzaku, sneered at the fetish warlord’s rumoured death, saying, “I have not seen his grave, therefore, I do not believe that he is dead. This is because anybody that is said to be dead should be honoured with a burial rite. It is when you attend his funeral that you will believe that such a person has really died.
“Moreover, people are not informed when and where his funeral took place. If it is said that Baba is dead, nobody will agree because he looms larger than life and will not be buried like a dog, except his burial has not taken place. I have not heard of any formal announcement about his death. Therefore, he is still alive and has probably relocated to a different destination, which nobody knows.”
Also, a Lafia-based business woman, Mrs. Nkechi Goodluck, was not convinced that the spiritual warlord was dead.
She said, “I heard that the fetish priest has died but other people argued that he is still alive; while another section of the people are optimistic that the Ombatse warlord still lives somewhere beyond human comprehension.
“Moreover, I do not believe that Baba Alakyo died because I have not seen or heard about his funeral, much less about his grave.”
Another Alakyo local, Chukwuemeka Onah, said that the reason he did not believe in the fetish priest’s death was based on an adage that says, ‘seeing is believing.’
“I will only believe that Baba Alakyo is dead when his ethnic group (Eggon people) summon a meeting to discuss the death of one of theirs by way of arranging a befitting burial for him,” he noted.
