President Bola Tinubu will today, Wednesday, visit Benue State following the brutal killing of over 200 villagers in the state by suspected herdsmen.
Tinubu recently announced that he would reschedule his appointments to pay a condolence visit to the people of the state on Wednesday, following last Friday’s attack in the Yelewata community that left scores of residents dead.
Ekwutosblog reports that many had criticised the president for not visiting the people of the troubled state despite the killing of scores of residents by suspected herdsmen.
He also came under attack after he charged Governor Hyacinth Alia to convene reconciliation meetings and dialogue among the warring parties to end the incessant bloodshed.
Ekwutosblog reports that a fresh wave of deadly attacks being carried out by armed herdsmen have spread to parts of Enugu and Abia states, leaving residents gripped with fear and anxiety.
The attacks intensified just a few days after a gruesome massacre in Benue that claimed many lives, including children, women and the elderly.
EXCLUSIVE: Untold story of how herdsmen reduced Benue community to ashes, burnt over 300 alive
Many residents had described the attack as the single deadliest massacre in Benue’s recent history.
Prior to the bloodletting in Yelewata, there were similar attacks on other communities like Edikwu-Ankpali in Apa as well as the Tyoshin community in Naka, Gwer East LGA, where scores of persons were hacked to death.
Sadly, similar tales of terror were being unleashed on Aguamede, Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State.
According to a Ekwutosblog recent report, bandits, suspected to be herdsmen, killed over 10 persons in Aguamede on Sunday.
Sources from the community claimed that the killer herdsmen were probably dropped by a helicopter that reportedly flew around the community earlier in the day.
“They did not even announce their operation with any gunshot. They just came in and started using machetes to butcher people and had killed more than 10 people in their homes, before anybody knew what was happening,” a source told DAILY POST.
Recall that a similar attack had occurred last week at Mbuji Eha-Amufu, where no less than four people were killed by the same suspected herdsmen.
Numerous reports disclosed that between 2017 and 2022 suspected armed herdsmen had attacked over 20 farm settlements in Eha-Amufu communities, resulting in the deaths of at least 123 locals.
The attacks had continued relentlessly over the years in some other parts of Enugu, notably at Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of the state.
DAILY POST also reports that Abia State was not spared as suspected herders recently invaded Umunneochi and Isuikwuato.
The State government on Monday confirmed an attack by armed herdsmen in the Umunneochi local government area, resulting in several fatalities.
The state Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, who was silent on the casualty figures, made this known while addressing journalists at the Government House in Umuahia on Monday.
“There have been some security breaches in the Umunneochi area of the state, leading to some fatalities,” Kanu said.
He added that the state security agencies had been put on full alert to tackle the security issue.
Residents recounted that the assailants stormed their communities at night, shooting indiscriminately and setting homes ablaze.
Local vigilantes were reportedly overwhelmed, while many villagers fled into nearby bushes for safety.
Expressing concern about the growing insecurity, a former United Nations Special Rapporteur and human rights lawyer, Prof. Joy Ezeilo, called on the federal government to act decisively before the insecurity spreads further.
In a statement made available to DAILY on Tuesday, Ezeilo described the tragic incident in Benue as a reflection of the escalating insecurity across the country
The senior lawyer also demanded a thorough investigation into the attack and swift justice for the victims.
“Every Nigerian’s life matters. The government must act decisively and transparently to restore peace and rebuild trust in the system,” Ezeilo said.
Also speaking to DAILY POST in an interview, Dr Kabiru Adamu, the Managing Director of Beacon Consulting Limited, said that the president’s visit was not a security approach but rather a political approach.
Adam declared that Tinubu’s journey to Benue would hopefully reduce the current political tension in the State.
The security expert further urged the President to ensure that he puts in place an effective security approach.
Adamu said: “So first of all, I strongly believe it’s a political gesture, and that’s okay. He’s a politician. He should set the tone for an effective security approach to address the issue.
“The visit itself is not a security approach. It is, like I said, a political approach, and it is important it would hopefully allow the political platform, as it were, to reduce the current political tension.
“I don’t need to tell you more. As you know, there are camps within the ruling party. The camp the governor belongs to and the camp of the SGF.
“And then I also believe there is a third or even fourth camp as well that exists. And then, of course, the dynamics between the APC, and the PDP, to whom the immediate past governor belongs, and all of that.
“So that’s breeding the violence in the state, and the visit hopefully will help reduce that tension.
“But more importantly, it is for the President to ensure that he puts in place an effective security approach.”
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