Gunmen seize Benue community for three days, kill 15

The lawmaker representing Apa State Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, Abu Umoru has raised alarm on the persistent siege of Akpete Community by herdsmen leaving about 15 persons dead.

Speaking, Aby lamented that “over 95 percent of a section of my community are displaced already.”

“The entire Edikwu community has been displaced, Opaha where I come from, nobody is in the community, Odugbo nobody is there, Akpete, Ikobi, Akpanta, Ochumekwu, Ijaha and Adija communities have all been deserted.

“Everyday they burn houses in Akpete. In the last three days they have been going to Apkete to burn houses after chasing them out of their ancestral homes. They ambush and kill not less than five persons on a daily basis. The number of casualties is so many.

“Today I could not be at the plenary in the House, I went to my communities to sympathise with my people and because of the killings, I have developed a problem that I have to go to the hospital to check myself.

“The killings are terrible. Even yesterday (Wednesday) on the highway around Nasarawa Toto leading to Oweto up to  Otukpo, between a village called Ojantele and Orozo, the herders put their cows on the road for three hours.

“There was no movement. It was the Hausa people who travel on these big trucks that came down and talked to them before they removed the barricade from the road.

“The development is no more a question of moving motion everyday at the state House of Assembly. These killings have gone beyond us. Our representatives at the National Assembly have moved motions times without number but what has happened? Who do we cry to?

“It is a pathetic situation. I don’t know what to do. I am speechless. Sometimes I ask myself why I even contested elections. Because I cannot go with my personal resources to go and do anything anywhere. If people are not happy or settled, how do you impact their lives? How many people can you feed? If they are in their villages, it is very easy for you to reach them, but if they are not there, how can you take a solar system there?

“Last time some people who were working at the high institution there were ambushed on the road, they opened fire and killed two of them. It is a pathetic situation.”

According to reports, the attacks also left several persons injured and many others still missing and unaccounted for.

Also speaking, the National Chairman of Apa Development Association (ADA), Mr. Eche Akpoko said “the attacks started since Tuesday. And the situation is even more than what we witnessed last year for which we held a press conference.”

“It has become a routine and this time around they have no regards for children and women. In fact even in international war there are regards for rules of engagement.

“Could you imagine that in a village a hungry lady went to the farm to get tubers of yam, they caught her and butchered her. They do not allow our people to go to the farm again, you don’t dare step out.”