1 week ago
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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Coalition of Sankera Elites (CSE), a group in Benue State, has lamented the spate of attacks and killings in the Sankera axis of the state, comprising Katsina-Ala, Ukum, and Logo Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The group, which noted that over 2,000 villages in Sankera have been sacked, said more than 1,000 persons have been killed by invaders and property worth billions of naira destroyed between July 2023 and December 2024.
Addressing a press conference in Makurdi on Saturday, the leader of the group, Mr Job Tiza, said they had set out with records to correct some misrepresentations from the state Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, who declared at a thanksgiving in Ikpayongo, Gwer East LGA, recently that peace had returned to every part of Benue and there were no more killings since he took over as governor.
The group said the governor’s statement was insensitive to the plight of Katsina-Ala, Ukum, and Logo LGAs, which make up Sankera, where residents are left vulnerable, being killed and maimed daily by militia herdsmen and bandits in villages and towns.
Tiza emphasised that since the inception of the Alia administration, the people of Ugbaam, Kundav, Borikyo, Mbatian, Mbazum, and parts of Uyam council wards in Ukum LGA had been forcibly displaced from their ancestral homes for the first time in recorded history.
“These homes are now permanently occupied by the marauding herdsmen. They are grazing freely as we make this press statement.
“Statistically, these six council wards account for 50% of Ukum’s population. Thus, it is not an exaggeration to state that about half of the LGA’s population is displaced and currently seeking refuge either in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps or with relatives in Sankera and Zaki Biam.”
He highlighted some of the attacks, saying that on 10th July 2023, armed bandits invaded Akpuuna, a settlement in Mbazum council ward of Ukum, and opened fire on innocent people, killing over 50 persons, who were laid to rest in a mass burial.
“On Saturday, 9th March 2024, armed herdsmen invaded Gbagir, a settlement in Tyuluv council ward of Ukum Local Government, and killed 68 persons, while on 11th August 2024, over 80 persons were killed by herdsmen in Ayati and other parts of Borikyo council ward of Ukum. They were also given a mass burial, just to mention a few.”
They reported similar attacks in Logo LGA between July and November 2024, where Mr Terdoo Hembaor of Anyiin, Solomon Kwanta of Tse Kwanta in Tomatar Iwendyer, a 300-level student of the University of Calabar, Mr Aza Dooior and his son, Mrs Ulagh Isaac and her son, among several others, were murdered in cold blood while properties worth billions were destroyed.
The group said that in Katsina-Ala LGA, available records show that herdsmen attacks in Yooyo and Mbayongo council wards alone left no fewer than 50 persons dead and properties worth millions destroyed.
They accused Governor Alia of abandoning the people of Sankera, alleging that he had deliberately refused to visit the sites of the attacks to assess the level of destruction and loss of life.
They also noted that security agencies had not been deployed to dislodge the armed marauders who had taken over their ancestral lands.
“Our people have endured every form of human degradation, including death, torture, rape, food insecurity, psychological trauma, and, above all, an existential crisis.
“We appeal to Mr President to deploy security forces to dislodge the armed Fulani herdsmen who have permanently occupied our ancestral land in Sankera, facilitate the resettlement of our people back to their ancestral homes, and provide relief materials and other forms of assistance for resettlement.”
They also urged the president to approve the establishment of a military barracks in Sankera, particularly in Ukum LGA, which is the flashpoint, and to complete the construction of the Police Mobile barracks in Anyiin, Logo LGA, to enhance quick security responses to distress calls and stop the herders and bandits from causing mayhem.
They further called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to mobilise NEMA with relief materials for the displaced and suffering people of Sankera to enable them to have some relief.
Our correspondent reports that recently, the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, Tersoo Kula, called on residents of the state to commend the governor’s initiatives and commitment to ensuring a very peaceful and secure Benue.
In a statement he signed and made available to newsmen in Makurdi, Kula explained that the governor had never said there was absolute peace in the state but had been consistent in stating that relative peace had returned under his watch.
He noted that Governor Alia’s statement was a testament to the fact that the state had witnessed a marked reduction in violence compared to previous years.
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