IDPs protest killing by herders, block Benue-Nasarawa road

Hundreds of Internally Displaced Persons on Tuesday blocked the Makurdi-Lafia highway over alleged killing of 10 persons by suspected herdsmen in their camp on Monday night.

They blocked the highway with corpses of the killed inmates, causing a gridlock on the busy expressway.

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, who showed up at the scene, appealed to the protesters to open the road for traffic flow.

The armed herdsmen were said to have stormed the community hosting the IDP camp and started shooting at the people, killing 10 and leaving many others injured.

Ortom during a visit to the scene of the protest urged President Muhammadu Buhari to rise up to the defence of vulnerable rural farming communities and Internally Displaced Persons.

The governor also asked the President to allow them to acquire weapons to fight armed Fulani herdsmen following the attack on the camp.

He said, “You have all seen what is happening within the last two weeks. We have lost over 70 people in Guma, Makurdi, and Gwer West LGAs alone, in addition to what you have seen here.

“Many are in the hospital apart from the seven that were killed. But I want to say that our patience is being overstretched in spite of our preaching of rule of law and due process. You can see that the people are fed up.”

He further asked the President to convene a national security summit to get the true picture of the killings allegedly attributed to bandits.

He said, “Mr President must rise up; he is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He has taken oath of office to secure and protect lives and property.

“This (attack) is not acceptable, this cannot continue. Mr President must rise up and address the nation.

“My colleagues, the governors must rise and impress on the President to call a security submit, if possible to declare a state of emergency on security so that all hands will be on deck to address the situation in the country.