In response to Saturday’s killings in the towns of Yelwata and Daudu in the state’s Guma Local Government Area, the military on Sunday established air surveillance over Makurdi, Benue State, and the surrounding area.
Since Sunday morning, the surveillance plane has been hovering above the capital city and other local government districts, including Guma and Gwer West, according to one of our sources.
The purpose of the air surveillance, according to a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to discuss the matter, was to keep an eye on the situation in Makurdi and the surrounding area.
“The air surveillance is to monitor the situation of things around Makurdi and its environs, so we will know how to tackle it swiftly.
“The residents should not panic, the military is on top of the situation,” the military officer said.
This comes as the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, took over the state’s security.
No fewer than 100 people were reportedly killed and several others injured when terrorists invaded the communities on Saturday.
On Sunday, protestors holding leaves gathered at Makurdi’s Wurukum Roundabouts in the wake of the deaths and urged the federal government to defend all of its residents inside its borders.
Speaking on their behalf, Brahms Ikuan and Gideon Inyom bemoaned the state’s ongoing murders and said that the government did nothing to keep the populace safe.
They refused to let the Deputy Governor, Sam Ode, and the Commissioner of Police, Emenari Ifeanyi, speak to them, so the police had to deploy tear gas to scatter them.
Speaking with journalists, Ifeanyi said, “The IG has taken over the security of Benue State.
“As I speak to you now, the IG has already sent Special Forces who are already on the ground and more are coming.
“All the Special Forces are intelligence forces, they will go to where the bandits are and get them.
“The ones you see here on the ground just arrived last night. The previous sets have been deployed to Naka, Apa, Agatu, Daudu and Yelewata. We are in control of the situation, so I’m assuring all citizens of the state that we are in control.”
The CP stated that some arrests have been made and that all security agencies are working together to combat the state’s instability.
According to the police chief, Governor Hyacinth Alia has already provided all the assistance required for security personnel in the state.
“Governor Alia has provided all the logistics and assistance we require. Everyone should exercise patience,” he remarked.
The police commissioner said that the deployment of officers to the unrest-plagued Apa and Gwer West local government districts was the cause of Saturday’s events in Yelwata.
“We have taken over Apa, Gwer West, and are making serious progress in Agatu,” he said, explaining what transpired in Yelwata yesterday.
“They just want to do something to show that they are in control while they are not and will never be.
“Whatever is paining you is paining us more. We are here to protect lives and property. We have security everywhere now, even in Yelwata, there are tactical teams in the bush even before the attack.”
The CP said the security agencies already had the intelligence reports on the movement of the gunmen, adding that the results would justify their efforts.
“Give the special forces and tactical teams a room to work. If you prolong your stay here you are giving the enemies more time to plan.
“We have intelligence reports of their movement and we are blocking them and you will see the result,” the police boss told the protesters.
In response to the president’s order, military personnel, police officers, and intelligence officials have arrived in Benue State to oversee security efforts and bring order back.
In order to put an end to the ceaseless killing, the president also gave the governor the responsibility of calling talks and reconciliation sessions between the warring factions.
The time has come for Governor Alia to take the initiative and lead the conversation and reconciliation process that would bring peace to Benue. According to the statement made by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, “our people must live in peace, and that is possible when leaders from all walks of life work together harmoniously and differences are identified and addressed with fairness, openness, and justice.”
Describing the killings and bloodletting as inhuman and anti-progress, Tinubu called on political leaders and community leaders in conflict areas to stop fuelling the crisis through unguarded utterances and statements that could further inflame tensions.
The President said, “The latest news of wanton killings in Benue State is very depressing. We must not allow this bloodletting to continue unabated. Enough is now enough.
“I have directed the security agencies to act decisively and arrest perpetrators of these evil acts on all sides of the conflict and prosecute them.
“Political and community leaders in Benue State must act responsibly and avoid inflammatory utterances that could further increase tensions and killings.”
Peter Obi, a former Labour Party presidential candidate, denounced the most recent spate of fatal assaults in Benue State.
He called the widespread murders of women, children, soldiers, and internally displaced people a national catastrophe that required immediate and forceful response.
“My heart is heavy as I learn of yet another horrific series of killings in Benue of women, children, soldiers, and displaced persons, all senselessly slain,” Obi said in a message posted on Sunday via his X account.
The violence, according to the former governor of Anambra State, was a “stain on our collective conscience” in addition to being a security lapse.
“This is not merely violence. It is a failure of leadership. Every life lost is a Nigerian life, each one precious, each one irreplaceable,” he said.
Obi called on all levels of government – federal, state, and local to rise to their constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property, warning that repeated failures undermined the very foundation of the country.
Pope Leo has offered prayers for victims of a “terrible massacre” in Benue State, Nigeria, where around 200 people were reportedly killed in an attack on rural communities.
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Delivering his remarks just before the Sunday Angelus prayer, the Pope described the violence as particularly devastating, noting that most of the victims were internally displaced persons sheltered by a local Catholic mission in Yelwata.
The pontiff said, “On the night of the 13th/14th June, in the town of Yelwata in the Guma Local Government Area in Benue State in Nigeria, a terrible massacre occurred in which around 200 people were killed with extreme cruelty. Most of whom were internally displaced persons hosted by the local catholic mission.”
Expressing deep concern for Nigeria, he prayed for peace and security in the country and highlighted the vulnerability of rural Christian communities in Benue.
The Pope said, “I pray that security, justice, and peace will prevail in Nigeria, a beloved country so affected by various forms of violence.
“And I pray in a special way for the rural Christian communities in Benue State, who have been unceasingly the victims of violence.”
Pope Leo also remembered victims of ongoing conflicts in Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine, and the Middle East during the Angelus address.
