INSECURITY: Distraught Benue Communities Raise Alarm as Banditry, Killings Persist

‎By Calista Oyeoba / posted July 11, 2025

Citizens in many parts of Benue State are demanding urgent and decisive security interventions to end the persistent killings that continues to damage their communities, turning the state into a killing field.
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‎In a recent Town Hall meeting convened by News Central in Makurdi, for survivors, attracted traditional rulers, security officials, civil society groups and community leaders, proffering insights on how to tackle the ongoing crisis. The event created a platform for victims to share their harrowing experiences and call for meaningful solutions.

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‎The state has continued to witness a surge in deadly attacks, with coordinated assaults on farming villages leading to widespread destruction, deaths, and mass displacement. Since 2009, Fulani herdsmen have allegedly attacked communities across the state that have claimed thousands of lives and displaced over two million people in more than 110 communities in Benue. Sadly, there have been reported deaths of over 1,000 people and maiming of others.
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‎Chief Dr. Amos Gizo, Executive Chairman of the Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority and Council Member of the Federal University of Lafia, explained that climate change has also worsened land conflicts, but he assured that the government is working on solutions.
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‎Despite the foregoing assurance, participants present at the Town Hall expressed frustration over the slow pace of justice and the state’s persistent insecurity. The citizens have called for stronger security measures, accountability for perpetrators, and immediate relief efforts for displaced persons.

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‎In his contribution, human rights activist Ier Jonathan Ichaver, condemned the attacks in strong terms, describing them as a form of ethnic cleansing.

‎”These attacks are genocidal there’s an ethnic cleansing going on in Benue State”, said Ichaver.
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‎Other speakers emphasized the terrorists’ onslaught has caused unimaginable humanitarian crisis, with thousands forced from their homes and living in critical conditions in different secured locations of internally displaced persons camp. They stressed that alongside relief interventions, long term strategies are needed to address the underlying causes of the unending violence, including land disputes and ethnic tensions.
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‎Mr. Kayode Akintemi, Managing Director of News Central, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to truth and solutions-focused journalism in the face of such approaches
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‎At the end of the meeting, the participants sent out a clear resonate message capturing the voices of survivors and community leaders emphasizing that the State needs peace, justice, and genuine reconciliation to end this the orgy of violence and restore hope to its people once again.

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NOTE: Calista is a Trainee-journalist who contributes regularly to DDNEWSONLINE.COM from the Department of Mass Communication, Ekocity Polytechnic, Lagos