Tension is extremely high in Benue State due to the mass influx of armed herdsmen across several Local Government Areas of the State.
Multiple communities are experiencing a resurgence of clashes, leading to loss of lives, destruction of farmland, and mass displacement of residents.
New Telegraph reports that at least nine local government areas of the state are currently hotspots of the attacks and massacres.
The local government areas include Gwer-West, Ukum, Logo, Tarka, and Guma. Kwande, Otukpo, Apa, Agatu and Makurdi, amongst others.
In each of these local government areas, communities have raised concerns over the massive influx of armed herdsmen, and many innocent people have been killed and farmlands destroyed.
In Gwer-West, for instance, the Naka-Adoka and Naka-Makurdi roads have been turned into dangerous routes, while in Ukum and Logo local government areas, around scores of armed individuals, believed to be herdsmen, have occupied villages in the Ukum area, freely moving through towns unchallenged.
Saturday Telegraph reports that in Tarka LGA, deadly attacks also occured, while in Guma, the homestead of the immediate past Governor, Chief Samuel Ortom and in Kwande LGA, there have been several guerrilla attacks where many people were killed due to armed herdsmen attacks, with dozens of people fleeing their ancestral homes.
Incidents have also been reported in Otukpo, Apa, and Agatu local government areas, respectively, causing widespread fear.
Reports say there have been claims that the attackers are not just grazing but are actively displacing residents to “occupy” their villages.
Purported notices of attacks have been reportedly delivered to communities, in some cases causing panic, particularly in areas near the state capital, Makurdi.
Saturday Telegraph recalled that the Yelewata (in Guma LGA) and Kwande incidents, where hordes of people are still wallowing in penury in designated IDP camps, are still fresh in our memories.
Just a few days ago, the insurgents made an incursion in Kwande, particularly in Abande, killing at least 16 people and an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).
At each of these attacks, residents have complained of a lack of immediate security response, leading to calls for the replacement of military personnel with police in some areas.
Findings by the New Telegraph indicate that these recalcitrant herdsmen attacks, if not checked, may snowball into a potential famine in the Nation’s “Food Basket” as farmers are unable to access their farms.
Already, in response to the intractable crises, local authorities in areas like Agatu have since issued 48-hour eviction notices to herdsmen to leave the state and go to where they came from.
However, some community leaders and citizens have expressed deep frustration with the pace of security intervention and the enforcement of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law.
The situation remains fluid, with residents continuing to report new sightings of armed groups and renewed violence, particularly in the aforementioned local government areas.
