The governor voiced his disappointment that suspected herdsmen had turned IDPs and rural communities in the state into easy targets.
After the 134 deaths that have occurred over the last five days in the local governments of Otukpo, Apa, and Guma, the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to send additional soldiers in order to match words with deeds (LGAs).
Ortom made the request on Saturday while visiting the Mgbam village in the Nyiev council ward of the Guma LGA, where 36 people, including IDPs, were killed by suspected herdsmen on Friday night and 40 others were wounded.
Rural communities are now fearful of attacks after another attack on Monday that left 47 dead in the Ikobi community of Apa LGA, including the traditional chief who was also killed alongside his subjects, and another attack on Wednesday that killed another 51 people in the Umogidi community of Otukpo LGA.
Suspected herders allegedly started attacking rural villages in Benue State’s Kwande, Guma, and Gwer West LGAs immediately following the holding of the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25.
With 134 fatalities reported, Ortom voiced his concern that rural communities and IDPs in the state had turned into easy targets for alleged herdsmen.
Ortom bemoaned the ongoing killings while visited the Mgbam locality and begged the President for assistance.
Yet survivors are getting care at Makurdi’s state university teaching hospital.
Attackers Need to Be Handled
Garba Shehu, Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant for Media and Publicity, released a statement on Saturday denouncing the “extreme violence” and several slayings that had taken place in Benue State during the previous week.
Speaking out against the “use of terrorism as a tool in inter-communal tensions,” the President ordered that the assailants “be located and dealt with” as soon as possible in accordance with the law.
He gave orders to the military commanders, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Department of State Services (DSS) to increase monitoring on all fronts and to quickly evaluate the security management in the impacted regions.
