THE TRAGEDY IN BENUE STATE  

There must be an end to impunity. The incoming administration has its work clearly cut out

In Benue State today, no place is safe. Not even the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps where hundreds of thousands had fled to escape the all-pervasive violence. On 25^th February, while the nation went to the poll to elect a president and members of the National Assembly, suspected herdsmen invaded some communities in Guma and killed 13 people. A few days later, several communities in Kwande local government area were also raided with over a dozen people murdered. As Christians were observing the recent Good Friday, dozens of innocent men, women and children were again killed in communities across the majorly agrarian state. Some of the dead included IDPs taking refuge at LGEA Primary School, Mgban, in Guma local government area of Benue State.  

In what has become a force of habit, President Muhammadu Buhari’s regrets have been offered by his spokesman. “The entire nation stands united in the fight against the forces of terror and evil,” Buhari said in what appeared a regurgitation of previous statements that were not backed by concrete actions. That perhaps has enraged Governor Samuel Ortom who called on the president to go beyond mere pronouncements. The security agencies, as Ortom charged and we agree, should fish out the criminals behind the killings in the state and bring them to justice. But there is also a place for leadership in the state. The growing frustration, cynicism, and distrust between and among residents of the state have become injurious to their security and we hope that the next administration in Benue will handle the challenge better.  

While we commiserate with the bereaved, we enjoin all relevant authorities to put an end to this impunity. In the past decade, Benue State has been in constant turmoil, and a graveyard of innocent children, women, and indeed men – victims of incessant conflict and unprovoked attacks by suspected herders. Statistics may not be readily available, but several hundreds of people have been killed since the renewed attacks commenced shortly after the 2015 presidential election. Perhaps the most bestial of these violent acts was on 1^st January 2018, when some suspected herdsmen went on the rampage in five communities, killing dozens of the villagers who were returning from the New Year eve service. Despite some hollow promises from Abuja, the Benue killings have continued.  

It is noteworthy that violence in the state has escalated since the enactment of the anti-grazing law in 2018 which was intended to curb trespass on farms by migratory herders and reduce the increasing wave of farmer-herder violence. The law requires people who rear livestock to buy land and establish ranches; prohibits open movement of animals within the state and spells out punishments, a law which the Fulani socio-cultural group Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) vowed to resist, insisting that it is against their culture, movement, and economic interests. According to the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency and Management Agency (SEMA), Emmanuel Shior, no fewer than 5,138 people had been killed in the state within eight years, while 18 out of the 23 local government areas have been overrun by herders.   

While we condemn in the strongest terms the growing brutality targeted at innocent Nigerians, we are worried that these incessant attacks can only worsen the general feeling of insecurity across the country. It is clear the current administration is not interested in taking meaningful steps to address the problem and end the bloodshed. It is thus left for the incoming administration to clear the mess once and for all. It must proffer workable and sustainable solutions to the spiral of violence and bloodshed between farmers and herdsmen in various theatres across the country.