By Emmanuel Onyedika
No fewer than 16 people were killed in the early hours of Sunday by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Otukpo Nobi, Okete Ward of Otukpo Local Government Area, Benue State, while another two persons were reportedly killed in a separate attack in Akpachi, Ugboju district of the same LGA.
Locals said the assailants stormed the community between 3:30 and 4:30 am, shooting sporadically and forcing residents to flee. The incident triggered protests by angry youths and women, who carried leaves and blocked major streets of Otukpo, including the palace of the Ochidoma, demanding an end to the killings.
One protester, Comfort Inalegwu, told reporters she lost her sister and two children in the attack. She said their corpses were deposited at the Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Otukpo, while several injured victims were receiving treatment. She warned that women in Otukpo would continue protesting and threatened that elections would not hold in the area unless government stopped the killings.
The Chairman of Otukpo LGA, Maxwell Ogiri, and the State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Udeme Edet, could not be reached for comment as of press time.
However, Governor Hyacinth Alia condemned the killings, describing them as “barbaric and inhuman assaults on the sanctity of life and the collective soul of Benue State.” In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, the governor said the attacks were attempts to sabotage the progress of the state.
Alia assured residents that their ancestral lands would not be surrendered to fear, warning that the people’s restraint must not be mistaken for weakness. He directed security agencies to intensify surveillance and patrols, liaise with counterparts in neighbouring states, and ensure the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
The governor urged residents to remain vigilant and cooperate with security agencies by providing credible intelligence, stressing that “security is a collective responsibility, and your information is a vital tool in our defence.”
The remains of the deceased were later buried according to Islamic rites after funeral prayers at the Gwallaga Jumaat Mosque, attended by hundreds of sympathisers.