An advocacy group under the auspices of the Benue Democratic Ambassadors (BEDA), has raised an alarm over the incessant attacks in Benue State by herdsmen, saying the invaders have now taken over 20 out of the 23 Local Government Areas of the state.
The group which made the assertion during a press conference in Makurdi, the state capital on Saturday, lamented that the state had been under siege in the last two years and nothing serious was being done by the government to rescue the state and its citizen from the killer herdsmen.
The National President of BEDA, Daniel Pila, while addressing the press conference, expressed concerns that the home town of the Catholic Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Most Revd Wilfred Anagbe, was attacked a few days after he addressed the United States House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa during a hearing in America on the worsening insecurity in the state and parts of the country.
He noted that Bishop Anagbe, during the hearing, had recounted the ordeal of Christians in Nigeria and the attacks and killings of Benue farmers by armed herdsmen and insurgents and urged the American government to designate Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ and few days later, the assailants invaded and sacked his community of Aondona.
“Benue is under siege as no place is safe in the state including Makurdi, the capital city. From Otukpo to Agatu, Gwer-West to Kwande, Makurdi to Ukum, Gwer-East to Katsina-Ala, Guma to Logo, nowhere is safe as herdsmen have taken over at least 20 out of the 23 LGAs that Benue has. We have nowhere to go to.
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“The attack on Aondona village is most disturbing; first, Aondona is close to Raav, one of the places the governor is proposing to establish a ranch and secondly because Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi is from there,” Pila said.
“Recall that Bishop Anagbe recently addressed the whole world on the series of killings of Christians in Nigeria particularly Central Nigeria, an address many people were not comfortable with and publicly threatened him.
“We call on the Federal Government to investigate the killings in Benue most especially, the attack on the Catholic priest, Rev Fr Atongo and the body of Christ.”
He further criticized Governor Hyacinth Alia saying he had not done enough to tackle the menace of insecurity in the state, while appealing to all stakeholders in the state to set aside their political differences and come together to rescue the state from the total collapse of security.
“In terms of projects, every single project that the governor initiated has been abandoned; nothing is moving. For instance, Ishaya Bakut, Iyorchia Ayu and Vaatia College roads among others that were awarded, even though without due process, have all been abandoned. And Makurdi town is also painfully very dirty,” he lamented.
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