Death toll rises to 56 in Benue attacks as governor suggests motive

Gov Hyacinth Alia of Benue said 56 bodies have been recovered following the attacks on two local government areas in the state by suspected armed herders.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the coordinated attacks in Ugondo community of Logo Local Government Area and in Tyuluv and Gbagir communities in Ukum Local Government Area.

The police said on Friday that 17 people were killed in the coordinated Thursday night attacks. However, the governor said on Saturday that the death toll had risen to 56.

Mr Alia spoke when he visited the affected communities.

Speaking to journalists after the visit, the governor confirmed that so far 56 corpses have been recovered: 27 in Logo and 29 in Ukum.

He said there was a possibility of the figure increasing in Ukum because the search for more bodies was still ongoing.

Possible Motive

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack and the motive is not confirmed yet.

However, Mr Alia suggested that the attacks occurred to prevent farming in the communities.

The fight over grazing rights has led to several attacks by armed migrant herders on farming communities in Benue and other states like Plateau, Kaduna and Taraba.

Mr Alia said he regretted that residents were strategically attacked at the beginning of the farming season to hinder them from farming.

He said urgent action must be taken to address the security situation in the state.

“Early hours of today, we understood that more bodies were being picked up in Logo LGA resulting to 27 corpses. So we lost 27 lives in Logo LGA.

“And then many more were picked up in some axis in Ukum and those for now are 29. Many more are surely expected because as we went there they were asking for some protection to get back to see how they can retrieve some bodies. So the numbers might even go up.

“So far we are talking about 56 lives lost in just one night. This is quite devastating,” he said.

The Benue governor lamented that the attacks occurred despite the efforts of the government.

“The … security team have been working seriously non stop. But for this to still happen, something drastic, something strategic has to come to play.

“How can you explain that two months ago we came to this town and people were quite settled and overnight it is calculated, it is planned, targeted attacks.

“I’m calling on the FG to support us, to come to our aide and promptly too. We simply need the support and help of the FG immediately.”he said.

Mr Alia commended the security agencies for their sacrifices to ensure that Benue has peace, adding that there was need for more reinforcements.

He sympathised with the families that lost their loved ones as a result of the attacks, and promised to take care of their burial and medical bills of those in the hospital.

Other officials speak

Also, the lawmaker representing Katsina-Ala/Ukum/Logo, Solomon Wombo, said even though the military were in the constituency for 12 years, there were still attacks and killings.

Mr Wombo lamented the insecurity in the area and appealed to the federal government to establish a military barrack in the area to protect his constituents from armed herdsmen and bandits.

“What borders me again is that we have soldiers in this axis for 12 years and the attacks have not abated at any point in time,” he said.

The Chairman of Logo Local Government Area, Clement Ungwachikar, and the Mue Ter Ugondo, Peter Iorhuna, thanked the governor for the swift response in coming to identify with them over the attacks.

The governor was accompanied by the heads of security agencies in the state, including the Commissioner of Police, SSS, NSCDC, Operation Whirl Stroke, Home Land Security, Civil Protection Guards among others.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the affected communities were deserted with armed police personnel seen patrolling in the LGAs.

Residents who fled the areas are now taking refuge in Zaki-Biam and Ugba IDP camps.

Like Benue, Like Plateau

PREMIUM TIMES reports that the attack in Benue occurred about three days after a similar attack led to the death of dozens of people in neighbouring Plateau State.

Suspected armed herders were also blamed for the Plateau attack although it is uncertain if the same group carried out the attacks.

Suspected armed herders have carried out several invasions of communities in both states, killing thousands of people in the past decade.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that about 100 people were killed recently in attacks by suspected armed herders on Plateau communities.

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The latest attack in Plateau occurred in the early hours of Monday when the gunmen attacked the Zike and Kimakpa communities of Kwall District in the Iregwe Chiefdom. Over 50 people were reported killed in the attack, with several houses and other properties also destroyed.

Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who visited the attacked communities on Tuesday, said he believes “every community must defend itself” in response to the mass killings in the state.