Apparently perturbed by the incessant killings of the people, the Nyiev-Ya Development Association in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State admonished the Federal Government to establish a military base in the area to mitigate the impact of herdsmen killings in the local government.
President of the Association, Dr. Joseph Akanyi, disclosed this in an exclusive telephone chat with New Telegraph in Makurdi.
Dr. Akanyi said that the military base should be established across the mountainous areas of Imande Kusu, Jowater, or Imande Dura to curb frequent attacks on the inhabitants by suspected Fulani militants so that those who fled their ancestral homes could also be able to return home.
He maintained that without a military base, the locals in the area cannot have peace.
The community leader also admonished the government to construct access roads and provide telephone networks to ease communication both within and outside the locality to link the inhabitants to the outside world.
“In 2024, the federal government promised to give us telephone networks, but up till now, nothing has been done about it. We need it now more than ever before, as attacks on our communities have escalated.”
Dr. Akanyi lamented that the continued attacks by the armed herdsmen terrorists have now enjoyed the support of the Jukun militants from neighbouring Taraba State, which has resulted in the displacement of over 10,000 Tiv people from their ancestral homes.
He disclosed that both the armed herdsmen and Jukun fighters have destroyed all their houses, including economic trees.
He said the joint efforts of both the Jukun fighters and the Fulani jihadists are to push them out of the area from Moon Valley to Mkomon and capture the entire land to settle thereon.
According to Dr. Akanyi, the invading terrorists are often accommodated at Kashimbilla in neighboring Taraba State, and renewed his call on the Federal Government to swiftly intervene in the boundary demarcation between the two states to end the escalation of conflicts.
