•Armed Fulani herdsmen
It was another day of deaths and misery in Benue State yesterday after suspected herdsmen killed about 100 people in a renewed attack. Many others were maimed.
Yelewata, a community in Guma Local Government Area of the state, was the scene of the pre-dawn attack, the latest in the recurring wave of mayhem by gunmen, reports The Nation.
Deputy Governor Sam Ode broke down in tears yesterday on sighting the pile of corpses from the mayhem. He called it barbaric.
The border community between Benue and Nasarawa states lies on the Makurdi-Lafia highway.
The Yelewata casualties included Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), women and children.
An unconfirmed report said at least two security men were killed while trying to repel the gunmen.
The invaders reportedly struck at about 2am yesterday while it was raining and operated unhindered for about two hours, killing, maiming and destroying foodstuff and property.
A resident James Utor who escaped the attack said the people were fast asleep when the first gunshot was fired.
Benue Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Edet Edeme, an ASP, confirmed the incident, saying the Commissioner of Police had deployed a tactical squad to the community to deal with the situation.
He was silent on the casualty figure.
Officials of the state government gave conflicting figures.
Anadolu, the Turkish news agency, quoted Joseph Har, Special Adviser to the Benue State governor on security and internal affairs, as saying “we have recovered 102 bodies”, while Tersoo Kula, spokesman for the governor, told another foreign news agency that “no fewer than 45 people have been confirmed killed.”
“We are aware of the ugly incident that happened in the early hours of today, and we are investigating the killing of more than 100 people. We have recovered 102 bodies,” Har said.
The Chairman of Guma Local Government Area in Benue State, Maurice Orwough, simply said many people were killed while more than 26 others had been hospitalised.
The attack came days after residents allegedly received information of planned coordinated attacks by marauders.
One account said the gunmen entered the community from two points and succeeded in overpowering the youths and the police personnel who confronted them.
They then proceeded to open fire on defenceless IDPs who were sleeping in market stalls and other residents.
Simultaneously, another band of gunmen reportedly made for another community in the local government area, Daudu, but met a strong resistance by the youths and security personnel.
A community leader in Yelewata, Mr. Matthew Mnyan, said the terror began at about 11pm on Friday when the gunmen “came from the Western part of Yelewata and started shooting.”
Mnyan, a former acting Chairman of the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), added: “The policemen and young people who were there tried to engage them. Suddenly, another group came from the Eastern part of the community, and they overwhelmed those trying to resist them.
“They killed our people, poured petrol on the stalls in the market and burnt them.
“In those stalls, we had people who moved from places like Branch Udei and people displaced from nearby villages, who slept in them because of the proximity of the police and soldiers there.
“And we learnt no soldier came out to defend the people.
“As of now, from the names they are putting together and the number of families and people that were burnt and killed are running to over 200.
“They killed and burned people in the houses.
“They will pour petrol and burn the whole place where people were sleeping.
“We had a family of 15, some families of 12, men with their two wives, children and every one of them burnt. It is a terrible sight.
“I have asked them to search for the families and put the names together because some have been burned to ashes.
“Those who were rushed to the hospital were up to 46.
“So far, I learnt that about 20 have died and we are still putting the reports together.
“For over one week we received reports from Nasarawa State that the terrorists planned to attack Yelewata, Ukoho, Ortese, Yogbo and Daudu.
“So they are moving to attack these places simultaneously.
“Fortunately, that same day, the ones at Daudu were dislodged, and we learnt five soldiers and police personnel were killed, sadly.
“We learnt more than 300 terrorists were camped close to Daudu.
The President of the Association of United Farmers Benue Valley, AUFBV, Chief Dennis Gbongbon, claimed that Lakurawa bandits were responsible for the carnage.
He said the casualty figure might be more than what was being speculated yesterday.
He said:”I am right here on the ground. Eighty-five per cent of the victims are IDPs who ran from Antsa, Dooka, Kadarko, and Giza areas, and took refuge in various stores in Yelewata market and among residents. Many have been hospitalised.”
“The IDPs in Yelewata are still farmers. They only ran to take refuge there.
“While it is important to separate them, it would help us understand the deteriorating situation farmers are confronted with.
“Even having run from sacked homes to IDPs camp, terror still followed them unabated.”
The Benue State Police Command spokesman, Udeme Edet, said the attack occurred “in the early hours of today (yesterday), where suspected bandits invaded Yelewata town.
“The Police and Tactical Teams posted to the town and reinforcement responded swiftly to the attack and engaged the attackers in a fierce exchange, and some of the attackers were killed in the process.
“But it is with great sadness that we report that some individuals lost their lives and others sustained injuries.
“The Police, however, have not relented and are still in pursuit of the attackers and will continue to keep everyone safe.”
Chairman of Guma Local Government Area in Benue State, Maurice Orwough, told Channels Television after visiting the scenes of the attack that herdsmen carried out the attack unprovoked, following an early attempt to attack Daudu town before the military halted the attack.
According to Orwough, the herdsmen then moved towards Yelewata at about 11.30 pm to attack Yelewata, where there were just four soldiers posted, while over one hundred of the herdsmen opened fire on the people.
He called for increased surveillance in the area to protect his people.
Deputy Governor Ode, during an assessment tour of the scene yesterday, assured the people that government would do everything within its power to provide maximum security for them.
Paul Omale, a civil rights activist, called on the federal government to deploy more troops to the state to secure the lives of farmers who are at the receiving end of the attacks.
James Ukeyima told our correspondent that attacks have caused untold hardship to farmers as they no longer go to farm.
Ukeyima said: “The sustained attacks on farmers have depleted Benue as the food basket of the nation.
Ex-commissioner wants FG to construct highway along River Benue corridor
President/Founder of Apa Legacy Sustainability Initiative in Benue State, Dr. David Olofu, has urged the federal government to construct a highway along the corridor of River Benue from Lokoja through Benue communities to Taraba State as part of the effort to stem the wave of insecurity and killings in the state.
Dr. Olofu made the call during a visit to parts of Apa Local Government Area in Benue State, which were recently attacked by herdsmen.
He noted that the ungovernable space within the corridor has contributed significantly to the murderous activities of Fulani herdsmen.
“These criminal elements take advantage of the vulnerability of the spaces as their habitat where they hide to carry out their nefarious activities,” he said.
He emphasised that constructing a coastal highway along the corridors of River Benue from Lokoja through Benue communities to Taraba would not only deter criminals but also generate economic activities along the corridor.
Dr. Olofu also donated cash relief to the victims and expressed sympathy to the communities.
He asked the federal and state governments to focus on providing good roads in rural areas as a precursor to tackling herders’ criminality.
“If we have good roads, our military and security agencies can easily and swiftly rush to rescue our communities if they are timely informed about any attack,” he said.
Dr. Olofu described the frequency of these unprovoked attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen as an epidemic and called on the people to unite against the menace.
He also urged the youth not to abdicate their responsibility of policing their communities to the elders and vulnerable, saying they should organise themselves into vigilante groups.
Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia recently accused unnamed politicians and federal legislators of instigating violent attacks in the state.
He said that the interim report of a judicial panel he set up indicted many big names.
“Some politicians who are very functional and are in the National Assembly, and are in Abuja, are the architects and arrowheads of not just instigating but harbouring and keeping these people; keeping them in the bushes and taking care of all their bills and buying all the gadgets for them,” he said.
He alleged that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume and his associates had not spoken out or taken action on the wave of killings and violence, particularly in the Sankera region.
However, the Office of the SGF in a swift reaction, debunked claims that Akume was silent or inactive in the face of the insecurity plaguing the state.
Alia vowed to take up the matter as soon as he received the full report.
The Benue State National Assembly Caucus also denied the governor’s allegation.
In a statement issued in Abuja, the caucus, speaking through the senator representing Benue South Senatorial District and Senate Minority Leader, Comrade Abba Patrick Abba, dismissed the allegation as baseless, reckless and irresponsible.
