Benue killings: Outrage as protesters block roads

Hundreds of youths in Benue State, yesterday, blocked major roads to protest the continuous attacks, killings, and displacement of people in the state by armed herders

This came as President Bola Tinubu ordered security chiefs to fish out perpetrators of the bloodletting in Benue State, describing the killings as inhuman and anti-progress

The angry youths, in their thousands took over the popular Wurukum Roadabout in Makurdi and called on the Federal Government to live up to its responsibility, which is to protect all the citizens.

The youths urged security agencies to redouble their efforts to ensure that all displaced people return to their ancestral homes and continue with their normal lives, as they rebuffed attempt by the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Sam Ode to address them.

It took the intervention of Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, VDM, who prevailed on the angry Benue youths to end their protest over the massacre in the state after they took over the popular Wurukum Roadabout, yesterday.

Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has condemned the latest attack, saying that nothing should warrant the taking of lives.

This came as the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Emenari Ifeanyi, said that the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, has taken over the security of the state.

Meantime, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has blamed the killing on the failure of government, describing the sordid affair as a stain on Nigeria’s collective conscience.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in his reaction, urged on all Nigerians regardless of tribe or religion to unite in condemning the atrocity, noting “We must hold our leaders accountable and insist on sustainable solutions to the violent tragedies claiming lives across the country.”

Also, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has raised the alarm over the continuous killings in Benue State, warning that the unchecked violence could ignite ethnic conflict across the country. It also called for the sack of the security chiefs for failing to carryout their duty to the people of the state.

The Catholic Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, has led prayers for victims of the massacre in Benue State.

Meanwhile, there is tension in Kadarko and other Tiv communities bordering the Benue communities where the herdsmen allegedly killed no fewer than 200 people n Yeluwata, Guma council, Benue State.

President Tinubu in a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said: “The latest news of wanton killings in Benue State is very depressing. We must not allow this bloodletting to continue unabated. Enough is now enough.