At least 11 persons were killed in the early hours of Wednesday when suspected armed herders attacked the Afia hamlet in the Ukum Local Council of Benue State, adding to the already rising violence in other parts of Nigeria.
This incident reportedly comes five days after more than fifty farmers were massacred in the local councils of Ukum and Logo.
At a security meeting in Makurdi, His Royal Highness Iyorkyaa Kaave, the Ter Ukum, denounced the attacks, calling them intentional and unjustified acts of aggression by roving herdsmen.
The attacks, according to the king, were a part of a bigger scheme to evict and confiscate local farmers’ land.
On Thursday, these attacks began in Logo, and on Good Friday, they extended to Ukum. More bodies are being found, other persons are still unaccounted for, and we are still tallying the casualties,” Kaave said. He said, “They immediately killed eleven people, injured a number of others to varying degrees, and there are still scores that have not been identified.”
Kaave compared the peaceful cohabitation between local populations and Fulani herders in the past with the present outbreak of violence.
He noted that the herders of today are not the same as those who arrived in the region in the 1970s and 1980s, when they brought their families and cattle during the dry season and lived in harmony with the people.
“We want the President to understand that the Fulani people we settled with in the 1970s and 1980s are not the same as these folks. They came to reside with us during the dry season, bringing their wives, kids, and animals. Kaave bemoaned, “But now they come with cattle and AK-47s, attack our people while they are sleeping, run away, and then come back to occupy their homes.”
“The President should get this clear, we don’t want to settle with murderers,” the Ter Ukum said, speaking directly to President Bola Tinubu. These individuals have a covert plan to murder and take over, which they are no longer concealing.
Many citizens of Benue State are afraid for their lives and safety due to the ongoing violence, and the situation is still getting worse as herders target more farming communities.