BY TEDDY NWANUNOBI
The duo of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide and a former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr Paul Orhii, have condemned the continued killings in Benue State.
The New National Star reports that more than 200 persons, including women and children, were murdered in cold blood by suspected Fulani herdsmen who invaded the Yelwata community in the early hours of Saturday.
Ohanaeze, in a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr Ezechi Chukwu, called on both the federal and state governments to urgently stop the violence.
“The deadly night attack, which has caused massive displacement, in addition to the loss of innocent lives and property, is seen by Ohanaeze as callous, inhuman and unacceptable.
“Human life remains sacrosanct, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or social status. This idea of ruthless mass bloodletting at the slightest provocation is ungodly and antithetical to national conviviality in a multi-ethnic country such as ours,” Chukwu stated.
He added that Ohanaeze decried the prolonged inability of government and security agencies to stem the escalation of attacks in Benue and other parts of the country.
The statement explained that there would be dire consequences for the progress and well-being of the Nigerian state if the incessant attacks were not contained.
“We, therefore, call on government and stakeholders at different levels to put in place adequate measures to address this theatre of carnage by finding a lasting solution to the vicious cycle of violence between herders and farmers.
“Benue Government and stakeholders may, as a matter of urgency, collaborate with the Federal Government and security agencies to converse a national dialogue on the unending destruction of lives and property in the state,” Chukwu added.
In his reaction, Orhii described the killings as “despicable, barbaric, inhuman, and satanic acts that all people of conscience must rise up in unison to condemn.”
He said that Benue community leaders and elder statesmen have individually expressed concerns about the genocidal activities of the criminal herdsmen, but have failed to present a united front to confront the carnage perpetrated by the criminals.
He called on Benue leaders and community stakeholders to constructively engage and collaborate with both state and federal governments to find a lasting solution to the wanton killings and destruction in the once-peaceful state.
“Benue, once described as the food basket of the nation, has unfortunately been turned into a Hobbesian state where life is short and brutish because of the murderous attacks of the suspected Fulani armed herdsmen,” he lamented.
Orhii, however, condoled with the Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, the bereaved families of Yelwata, and the people of Benue over the loss of innocent lives.
The ex-NAFDAC boss expressed hope that the concerted efforts of the federal and state governments to beef up security and step up humanitarian interventions would bring succour to the embattled communities.
He urged the government to urgently train residents on self-defence techniques and empower able-bodied men in various local communities to serve as the civilian first line of defence against external attacks.
“Governments must introduce new, all-encompassing and holistic kinetic and non-kinetic strategies to tackle the hydra-headed menace posed by the criminal armed herdsmen,” he said.