President Bola Tinubu has restated his earlier directive to security chiefs to bring lasting peace and security to Benue State, followed the alarming spate of attacks and killings in communities.
The President’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said the President renewed his order in the wake of the latest round of reprisal attacks where suspected herdsmen from Nasarawa State attacked Yelewata, a border town between Benue and Nasarawa states.
Addressing journalists at the Government House, Governor Hyacinth Alia confirmed the killing of 59 persons. He said the figures are based on physical headcounts by security agencies working with families of those killed.
In his reaction, President Tinubu charged the governor with convening reconciliation meetings and dialogue among the warring parties to end the incessant bloodshed and bring lasting peace and harmonious coexistence between farmers, herders, and communities.
Describing the killings and bloodletting as inhuman and anti-progress, the President also called on political leaders and community leaders in conflict areas to stop fuelling the crisis through unguarded utterances.
Meanwhile, Pope Leo the fourteenth has condemned the recent killings in Benue, describing the incident as a “terrible massacre” in which mostly displaced civilians were murdered with “extreme cruelty”.
Delivering his remarks before the Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican, the pontiff expressed deep concern over the ongoing violence in Nigeria and the suffering of affected communities.
The Pope prayed for “security, justice, and peace” to prevail in the country and offered special intercession for the rural Christian communities in Benue, whom he described as “relentless victims of violence.”
Frustrated by the incessant attacks, angry youths stormed the Wurukum food basket roundabout in Makurdi to protest the killing. The protesters, joined by a social media influencer, Martin Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, demanded action over the alleged killings.
