The Benue State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, has stated that the death toll of the simultaneous attacks by armed herdsmen on communities in Ukum and Logo Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state on Thursday and Friday has brought the death toll to 56 deaths.
The Governor disclosed this while addressing the people of Logo local government area at Ugba, headquarters of the local government on Saturday.
The is just as a Community Leader, in Ugondo, Mbamar, Logo LGA of the state, Elder Pharoah Acka, has stated that more persons have been displaced in the Logo axis following the attacks even as many communities around Gbagir, Ukum LGA, including Akaa in Logo local government area have been deserted.
Meanwhile, the Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), under the leadership of Comrade Austin Agada, has described the attacks as acts of genocide, aimed at displacing the people and taking over their land, also demanded for the immediate overhaul of the security architecture of the state.
However, shortly after an on-the-spot assessment of the situation in Ukum and Logo LGAs, on Saturday, the Governor who was addressing a mammoth crowd in Ugba said the toll of those that lost their lives to both incidents had increased from 20 on Friday night to 56 deaths by Saturday evening.
According to the governor, the death toll in Logo rose from 12 to 27, while the number of corpses recovered in Ukum LGA had risen from 5 to 29, just as he vowed that perpetrators of the act would be fished out and brought to book.
The fifty six bodies were recovered in Ugondo, Logo LGA and Tyuluv, Gbagir, Ukum local government area, while those that fled the affected areas are now taking refuge in Zaki-Biam and Ugba Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.
The Governor called on the Federal Government to assist his administration to end the incessant and senseless killings as well as the displacement of innocent citizens in the state.
While Governor Alia sympathized with families who lost their loved ones as a result of the attacks, he promised that the government would foot the bills for the burial of the dead and medical bills of those that were currently in the hospital.
Member representing, Logo, Ukum and Katsina-Ala at the House of Representatives (HoR), Solomon Wombo lamented the spate of insecurity in Sankera axis and appealed to the federal government to establish a military barrack in the area to protect his constituents from armed herdsmen and bandits.
The Logo local government chairman, Clement Kav and Mue Ter Ugondo, Chief Peter Iorhuna, appreciated the governor for the swift response and for coming to identify with them over the attacks.
Reaffirming the commitment of the Alia administration to protecting lives and property in a statement earlier signed by Angula Bishop, Private Secretary to Governor Alia, who doubles as the Principal Special Assistant (PSA) to the governor on ICT and New Media, Alia told the people of the state that government was doing everything possible to restore peace to the affected communities.
He said, “Governor Hyacinth Alia, said the attacks occurred in the Sankera axis, leaving residents in mourning and prompting an intense search operation by security forces and local volunteers.
“According to the governor, five corpses were initially recovered in Gbagir and transported to a mortuary. However, ongoing efforts by civilians searching for missing relatives led to the discovery of two additional bodies.
“Meanwhile, police operatives responding to simultaneous attacks in Logo recovered twelve more bodies, also deposited in a local mortuary. These discoveries bring the total number of confirmed fatalities to twenty.
“The violence has sent shockwaves through the state, already grappling with a fragile security situation exacerbated by long-standing tensions between farming communities and nomadic herdsmen.
“Governor Alia condemned the attacks and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to protecting lives and property. He urged residents to cooperate with security agencies by providing timely and accurate information that could help prevent further violence.”
Angula further quoted the Governor as saying that “The government is doing everything within its power to restore peace and ensure the perpetrators of these heinous acts are brought to justice.”
Additionally, the PSA observed that “Benue State, often referred to as the “Food Basket of the Nation,” has been a flashpoint in the country’s ongoing herder-farmer conflict, a crisis driven by land use disputes, climate pressures, and deepening ethnic and religious divisions.
“Security forces have since intensified patrols in the affected communities while investigations are ongoing”, Angula said.
Elder Pharoah Acka, a community leader in Logo LGA, said that communities in Logo LGA, bordering Gbagir are deserted due to the proximity of the attacks in Ukum LGA.
He stated that on Friday, women and children were evacuated from the surrounding villages surrounding, save some men and youths who were around to keep vigil on the villages.
Acka said, “Everyone in all the villages surrounding Akaa and beyond is on the run. We left Akaa to Ugba yesterday (Friday).
“The Fulanis were attacking Ukum from Gbagir axis. They reached Tse Bako, not far away from Akaa (in Logo LGA), before we decided to leave Akaa village.
You should have seen the population on the Tse Bako-Agbungu-Akaa-Ugba road; men, women and children of all ages trekking to Ugba. It was pitiful.
“We heard heavy machine gun shots all the way from Gbagir, all the while. But throughout our journey we did not see one security vehicle heading to Gbagir,” he lamented.
Elder Acka, said the death toll in the attacks are likely to be higher, as more corpses were being recovered in some areas on Saturday.
He said, “Up till this morning (Saturday), dead bodies are still being picked up here and there. However, people who ran away from their villages out of fear, but were not attacked, including Akaa, have started going back to their villages in droves on pickup trucks”, he said.
Therefore, he appealed to the authorities concerned to ensure that security personnel were deployed to the Tse Bako-Agbungu-Akaa-Ugba road so as to ward off the armed herdsmen from the area.
However, in the APC statement signed by Daniel Ihomun, State Publicity Secretary of the Comrade Austin Agada led faction of the APC in the state, condemned the attack and urged government to take urgent steps at arresting the situation.
The spokesman of the party said, “The APC, Benue State Chapter under the leadership of Comrade Austin Agada, strongly condemns the recent wave of killings and destruction in Tyuluv, Saror, and Mbawar communities in Ukum, Une in Katsina-ala, Gondozua in Logo Local Government Areas, as well as the brutal murder of over 17 individuals in Akpa-Otobi Community, Otukpo Local Government Area.
“These attacks, reportedly carried out by armed Fulani herdsmen, are part of a disturbing and well-coordinated campaign of violence targeting our people. What is unfolding in our state is nothing short of a calculated genocide—an evil agenda aimed at displacing our people and taking over our ancestral lands.
“We mourn the lives lost and the communities devastated by these heinous acts. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and all those who have been displaced.
“We repeat our earlier calls on the Executive Governor of Benue State, His Excellency Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, as the Chief Security Officer of the state, to take immediate and decisive action to halt these atrocities. The security situation in Benue has deteriorated beyond what can be ignored or downplayed.”
Therefore, the party demanded for the “Immediate comprehensive overhaul of the Governor’s current security architecture for failing in the most sacred responsibility of safeguarding lives and property;
“Convening of an emergency stakeholders’ security summit involving members of the National Assembly, State Assembly, Federal Government appointees, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society groups, and youth organizations to forge a concrete road map to peace;
“Implementation of a comprehensive plan for the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their ancestral homes with adequate security guarantees.
“And the active and sincere engagement of the Benue State Traditional Council with the aim of devising communal base responses. Our traditional leaders must rise in defense of our heritage and people.”
The State APC further warned that “Benue cannot and must not be allowed to fall into the hands of enemies who seek to erase our identity and dominate our land. We must come together, irrespective of political or ethnic affiliations, to protect our people and preserve the future of our state.
“The APC Benue State Chapter stands with the people and will continue to speak out until peace and justice are restored”, the party vowed.
