The Ter Tyoshin and Chairman of the Gwer West Traditional Council, His Royal Highness Daniel Abomtse, has raised the alarm over the worsening security situation in Benue State, stating that more than two-thirds of the state have been overtaken by armed herdsmen.
According to the traditional ruler, the crisis began in 2011 when armed herders first invaded communities in Gwer West Local Government Area.
Since then, the violence has spread across nearly 20 out of the state’s 23 LGAs, forcing thousands of residents from their ancestral homes and into Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, he said.
“All the districts in Gwer West have been occupied,”; Abomtse said during an extraordinary expanded sitting of the Gwer West LG Traditional Council at the weekend.
He added, “The rightful owners of the land have been displaced and are now congested in Naka, the headquarters of the local government.
“In the villages, the armed herdsmen are still there, some rearing cattle, others engaging in banditry and kidnappings.”;
The monarch described key routes, such as the Naka-Adoka, Naka-Taraku and Naka-Makurdi roads, as extremely dangerous, labeling them “death traps”.
Expanding on the scale of the occupation, he added: “In Kwande LGA, more than six districts are under siege. Guma has lost all ten districts.
“In Makurdi, only the metropolis is unaffected. Logo and Ukum LGAs are badly hit, with Ukum now the hotbed of attacks. Otukpo’s surrounding communities, as well as parts of Agatu and Apa, are no longer safe.”;
Abomtse called for urgent federal intervention to reclaim the occupied territories and enable displaced residents to return home.
“What we are facing in Benue is severely under-reported,”; he stressed, adding: “It is not comparable to what’s happening in any other state, not even in Borno.”;
