ABUBAKAR YUNUSA, ABUJA
The mourning and lamentations by traumatised residents of Gbeji in the Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State over the invasion of their communities last week by suspected Fulani herdsmen is a reminder of the continued bloodletting in the state.
The Explainer gathered from residents that almost on daily basis community members have been falling victims of the endless killings, destruction of farms and buildings, and the eviction of residents from their homeland.
This apparently is the main reason Governor Samuel Ortom called on the Federal Government to approve the request of the state for AK-47 rifles to enable community defenders repel attacks by armed invaders. Many close watchers of the repeated attacks on communities in Benue State have also called on President, Muhammadu Buhari to end his detached stance and move to stop the bloodbath, instead of always releasing statements from the comfort of his office.
As the time The Explainer was reporting, the death toll from the reprisal by suspected herders on Gbeji in the Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State has hit 36 and several people were said to still be missing.
The attackers moved into the community in the early hours of Wednesday and shot indiscriminately, killing 18 people including a policeman. The state Commissioner of Police, Wale Abass, according to reports monitored by The Explainer said that the attack was likely a reprisal since five herders were reported to have been killed by locals in different communities in Logo on Tuesday.
He had said, “Two Fulanis were coming from Taraba and were on Keke Napep (motorcycle) after the border line, they (locals) stopped them. They were attacked and killed. Simultaneously, close to Anyiin in the Logo Local Government Area, another two Fulanis were attacked and killed.
“Also at another village, one of the herders rearing cows was attacked and killed and thereafter (locals) rustled his cows, butchered and shared them.” In October last year, the Governor Ortom assented to the amended Community Volunteer Guards Law of the State, and the amendment empowers the guards to carry weapons.
The Community Volunteer Guards law was first passed in 2000 during the administration of George Akume, former governor of Benue. Speaking recently at the passing-out parade of the first batch of 500 members of the agency in Makurdi, the Benue capital, Ortom said the decision to set up the security outfit is part of efforts to address insecurity in the state.
“This very expensive investment would have been avoided if it was not forced upon us by the perpetual siege that vicious terrorists have mounted on our land,” he said.
What Gbeji Residents are saying?
A victim, Paul Gbeji, who spoke with journalists said: “We heard gunshots around 5:30am in the morning when we were about going to church, and we started running but there were some of my brothers who were asleep then and could not escape so they got inside and killed them.
Elder Iorngaem Kerepe, said the herdsmen stormed Gbeji town at about 4:00am through St. Michael’s Catholic Church, shooting sporadically, killing people including a police sergeant and one corporal when they attempted to repel the attackers.
Kerepe expressed shock over the attack owing to the fact that there is the presence of military men at Kente, a Jukun settlement on the Benue -Taraba border, two kilometre from Gbeji, with another military checkpoint at Gou, three kilometre from Gbeji.
Another survivor, Rose Mary, said; “we heard gunshots when we were about to go for morning service and we stopped briefly and, afterwards, started running as they started pursuing us. Then we hid and some who could not make it were butchered.
Asked if she recognised anybody, she said, “What I recognise is that I saw a man in military uniform.”
Also, the chairman of Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State, Derick Kartyo, explained that he received a distress call at about 5a.m that herdsmen had invaded Gbeji town again.
He said, “immediately I received the distress call, I informed all the security agencies and mobilised their squad and moved to Gbeji community.
“And at exactly 7a.m, I was already in Gbeji community. people have started fleeing the community because of the attacks. I saw some people on the road but I had to bring them back. People you are seeing here with me now are here because I am around.
“I wanted to take stock of everything that were destroyed and lives that were lost.”
During his visit to Gbeji on Friday, ex-governor of the state, who is now a senator representing the North- East senatorial district, Gabriel Suswam, decried the killings in Gbeji.
Suswam bemoaned what he described as the lax attitude of the Federal Government in terms of protecting the lives of the people.
He said, “the incessant killings are highly unacceptable and unfortunate. The Federal Government has gone to sleep and does not care about the security of the people.’’
On his part, the State Governor, Samuel Ortom, who was represented by the Secretary to the state government, Prof. Anthony Ijohor, reiterated the call on the federal government to arm the state security outfit with AK47 to effectively protect the people. He added that the authorities were compiling the number of displaced persons in order to assist them.
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