Unmask Killer-herdsmen In Benue Now

Communities in the border area of Benue and Nasarawa states have for long been bearing the brunt of the unprovoked attacks and seemingly endless killings by gunmen suspected to be herders.

These attacks, which have for years taken a similar pattern of raids on villages and led to loss of several lives and displacement of many families, most of whom currently occupy the internally displaced persons(IDPs) camps, are perpetrated by persons who clearly kill for fun. 

Because the victims of these attacks are mostly farmers, as should be expected, the attacks are taking a toll on farming with attendant consequences on Nigeria’s drive to attain food security.

The latest of such attacks occurred in the early hours of Sunday 26 February, when these marauders invaded three communities of Tse-Lgar, Tse-Magu and Tse-Dudu, in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State and killed 13 people.

There are media reports that the attackers killed eight people in Tse Lgar; three persons at Tse- Magu and two at Tse-Dudu during an early morning raid on these communities at a time the residents, like most Nigerians, are waiting for official declaration of results after the presidential and National Assembly elections.

Lamentably, in our opinion, armed herdsmen have for long subjected residents of some predominantly farming communities in Benue and Nasarawa states’ border to these unprovoked attacks and killings which often lead to loss of lives and permanent deformity on some persons.

Only recently, Governor Samuel Ortom disclosed that armed herdsmen have, in the last few years, killed over 6,000 persons in Benue state. While these killings remained intractable, the state continued to grapple with the challenges of addressing the needs of internally displaced persons, most of whom have been forced into staying in camps across the state.

The Benue state government said no fewer than two million persons are taking shelter in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camps in some parts of the state.

We recall that as a way of curtailing the movement of cattle since the herdsmen controlling them are often accused of spearheading these attacks, the Benue state government, in 2017, enacted the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law.

Six years after the enactment of the law and subsequent confiscation of hundreds of cattle because their owners observed the law in the breach, it cannot be said with certainty if the legislation is making plausible impacts since killings by suspected herdsmen remained intractable.

7 Killed, Scores Injured As Gunmen Attack Benue Communities

Although the attacks and subsequent killings have continued to caused devastating humanitarian crisis in border communities of Nasarawa and Benue states, the killers have not been apprehended let alone made to face the full wrath of the law. Both the Benue state government and most  victims of these attacks have repeatedly accused suspected herdsmen of being the perpetrators.

Like most Nigerians, we believe that the government’s failure to apprehend those behind these killings and apply the full weight of the law, has contributed to exacerbating the situation even as it continues to fuel the agitation for self-help.

As a newspaper, we have repeatedly condemned the needless killings in Benue state and other parts of the country just as we denounce the government’s apparent disinclination to tame this unending bloodbath.

For yet another time, we urge the government to urgently unmask those behind not just the latest killing but also a series of killings in Benue and Nasarawa border communities, ensure their prosecution and ultimately provide restitution for the victims. Government cannot afford to let those cruelly killed in these attacks die in vain.

It is pertinent to urge the government at the federal level to use its  might to bring this unwholesome situation under effective control. Already, there are insinuations that the blood-letting has persisted thus far because the government is protecting some vested interests. This may not be correct but it is pervasive and dangerous enough to make the authorities to act in the direction of checking it.

The time to ensure justice and ultimately end these killings is now.