Fulani Herdsmen Displace 100,000 Nigerians In Benue State

Reports have emerged that about 100,000 persons have been displaced from their ancestral homes in areas of Benue state due to the ongoing crisis between Fulani herdsmen and farmers. The Executive Secretary of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr Boniface Otese, who made this known yesterday in Makurdi, said about 12,000 families have been affected by the mayhem.



Otese stated that 17 of the 23 local government areas of Benue state have been affected by the attacks while several areas like Moor in Kwande local government area remain occupied by the marauders.

“The most affected local government areas in the crisis includes Agatu, Buruku, Tarka, Kwande, Logo, Makurdi and Guma, where some council wards, including Mbalai, Mbadwen, Uvir, Ndzorov and Saghev were wiped out,” Mr Otese said.

“Most of the riverine communities in the state were also not spared, as they all came under severe attacks due to their unique vegetation and enormous endowment in the Benue valley.”
The Executive Secretary stated that Governor Samuel Ortom was working closely with the federal government and all relevant security agencies to ensure an end to the bloody crisis and the rehabilitation of affected persons and communities.

Mr Otese pleaded for more assistance from the federal government, corporate organisations, public spirited individuals and non-governmental organisations, in the rehabilitation process.

The news comes after up to 40 people were killed by Fulani marauders in Taraba state after several villages came under a brutal assault on April 12. Speaking to reporters at headquarters of the state police command, the state commissioner of police, Shaba Alkali, said the herdsmen launched coordinated attacks on the two villages on Sunday at about 11am.

“A group of people numbering about twenty, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, invaded and attacked Dori and Mesuma villages via Garbabi ward, Gashaka LGA, and burnt some thatch houses forcing the villagers to flee into the villages of Mayo-Selbe and Sabon Gida for safety,” Commissioner Alkali said.
The federal government is now coming under increased pressure to respond to the Fulani herdsmen crisis and deal with the mauarades.