The rate at which killings occur in Benue State, soon it may be correct to assume that the state is at war. According to Amnesty International, about 2,600 persons, mostly women and children, were killed following attacks on 50 communities in the state between January 2023 and February 2024.
It is an understatement to say killings in Benue State are gradually becoming the new normal. How else can one explain the fact that the state currently has over 10 internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps where thousands of families that ran away from the maddening killings in the state are currently taking shelter?
Nothing underscores the enormity of the Benue situation like the fact that there is at least one IDP camp in 13 of the state’s 23 local government areas. The fact that these camps are housing predominantly farmers who should have been in the field helping to address the nation’s food security challenge makes it more concerning.
Only recently, about 32 persons were reportedly killed in a renewed attack on Yaav and Mbadura wards in Kwande local government area of the state. Residents said the attackers invaded the community, shot sporadically and set houses ablaze. It was reported that the attackers killed and dumped the bodies of 15 persons in River Katsina-Ala.
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The Benue killings have been extended and recurring, with the Sankera axis, which includes parts of Ukum, Logo, and Katsina-Ala LGAs being the worst hit. Only recently, the Coalition of Sankara Elite said over 1,000 persons have been killed, with 2,000 villages displaced by these attackers.
But why is this killing recurring? Who are those behind it? What is the government doing to address it? Will there ever be a lasting solution? The Benue Valley is undoubtedly the most fertile in the country, and the struggle for farming and grazing lands partly causes these recurring killings.
The killings in Benue State have far-reaching implications for the nation’s food security. As the most fertile valley, Benue prides itself on being the nation’s food basket and tops the states with a massive volume of farm products. A nation battling food security cannot afford to watch idly while its food production hub is enmeshed in recurring killings. No, we cannot afford that.
Both armed herdsmen and some criminal elements in the state perpetrate the recurring Benue killings. While armed herdsmen have continued their sustained attacks on the predominantly farming communities, politicians have also exacerbated the situation by arming some local bandits who also indulge in indiscriminate killings of supposed political rivals. Governor Hyacinth Alia himself, last year, accused some unnamed Abuja politicians of sponsoring the killings.
We are alarmed that almost one year after he accused some Abuja politicians of involvement in the recurring killings, Governor Alia has yet to commence the process of prosecuting them. Was it because there was no cogent evidence, or the government is swayed by political consideration?
The primary responsibility of the government is to protect life and property. As a cleric, Governor Alia knows too well that man is the dearest among God’s creatures. Perhaps that is why God gave man dominion over virtually all that He created. To the extent that human life is sacred and deserves to be protected at all costs, we enjoin the Benue State government to do all it takes to end these recurring killings.
Perhaps one best way of doing that is to commence the process of identifying and prosecuting those accused of sponsoring these killings. Notably, the government must be stern in addressing the criminality perpetrated by armed herdsmen.
As a newspaper, we believe that if all the state government could do in the remaining part of its first term was to end the killings in the state, it would have done enough for posterity. Whatever development strides the government makes will be null if life and property are not protected. The dividends of democracy are for the living. The time to end the recurring killings in Benue is long overdue. Governor Alia can and must work assiduously to ensure that.
In appealing to the governor to act expeditiously, we are not unmindful that he is hamstrung by the law-enforcing institutions that are centrally controlled and beyond his power to deploy.
Despite that, this newspaper enjoins him to raise the matter with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with whom he shares similar political opinion. We expect him to pursue the matter with all the seriousness it deserves. We make this point because those killed and others in sub-human conditions in IDP camps are humans and not mere statistics. In the prevailing circumstance, agonising is unhelpful. What is urgently needed is intense action to restore sanity to that state and its long-suffering people.
