An attack on Igbaukyor-Ikov in Ushongo LGA of Benue State by gunmen suspected to bandits have allegedly left one dead and two others kidnapped, the latest in a string of violent incidents that have forced residents of Ikov Council Ward to flee their ancestral homes.
In an interview with journalists at the weekend, a fleeing resident, who pleaded anonymity, said he was at Sati-Ikov for a burial two days earlier when the incident occurred and lamented that the level of insecurity in Ikov had reached a point where “almost everyone wakes up expecting to hear one tragic story or another from these bandits and terrorists.”
He noted that the attacks have moved across Ikov communities in recent months, recalling that just last month, more than five people were reportedly gunned down in Sati-Ikov while several others were kidnapped.
According to him violence later spread to Ude-Ikov and has now returned to Igbaukyor-Ikov, the same community where nearly nine people were killed in a single day some years ago.
“People are gradually abandoning their ancestral homes in Ikov, yet we watch as though nothing is happening,” he said, lamenting that settlement areas like Igbaukyor and Hiitom-Orbiam, once considered relatively safe, are no longer spared as residents of Sati-Ikov now avoid sleeping in their homes.
The informant criticised public commentary that blames locals, arguing that a careful investigation shows the attackers repeatedly use the same routes through Ushongo and Shitile border areas, querying why adequate security checkpoints have not been established along those corridors.
He commended Member representing Mata State Constituency in the Benue Assembly,Simon Gabo for assisting the deployment of a temporary police checkpoint in Igbaukyor about three years ago after nine people were killed in one day.
According to him, that intervention brought relative peace for more than two years until the security presence was withdrawn, appealing to the government that such an approach be sustained and extended to other vulnerable border communities like Sati and Ude communities in Ikov council ward.
“We can’t continue blaming these people while failing to provide them with adequate security,” he said, questioning whether security personnel had ever been driven away by youths or attacked by bandits in Ikov.
He appealed for divine protection and lasting peace, arguing that the poor who remains most vulnerable are in desperate need of checkpoints and protection and sympathize with victims and families of the deceased.
Efforts to confirm the development with the Police Public Relations Officer Udeme Edet at the time of filling this report failed.