We Have Lost over 500 People to Incessant Herdsmen Attacks, Benue Group Cries Out

George Okoh in Makurdi

A community-based group, Forum of Tyoshim Academics (FoTA), has decried the incessant bandit attacks on the Tyoshim community of Gwer-West Local Government Area of Benue State even as it urged the federal and state governments to intensify efforts to protect their lives and property.

The group made the call yesterday after an attack on the Tyoshim community that led to a blood bath.

This was contained in a statement on behalf of the forum, signed by the National President, Prof. Patrick Ukase, and the National Publicity Secretary, Prof. John Anja.

According to the statement: “Today marks another day of mourning, another black day etched in the hearts of our community. The relentless wave of violence continues as suspected Fulani armed herders have, once more, unleashed terror on our people—this time along the Naka-Makurdi Road. The lives of five innocent souls, desperately taken to a clinic for treatment, have tragically slipped away, their cries unheard. Others lie in agony, fighting for their lives, yet the true number of those attacked remains unknown.

“Since 2011, the toll of this violence has been staggering. Between 2011 and 2017, 192 sons and daughters of Tyoshin were gruesomely murdered by herders. From 2018 to 2023, the numbers escalated, with 302 more lives lost in the area. This year alone, 17 individuals have been mercilessly hacked down by these herders. These figures do not include those who have disappeared and have not been seen since 2011. In all, we have lost over 511 lives to this relentless onslaught.

“Tyoshin land is bleeding, its cries drowned in the deafening silence of indifference. Our villages, our homes, and our very existence have been under siege for too long. Nine council wards of the Gwer-West Local Government Area have already fallen into the hands of these ruthless attackers.

“Today’s tragedy is but a grim continuation of a war that has ravaged our land, leaving us shattered and broken. Just days ago, the blood of our brothers and sisters was spilled in Camp-Nagi, Mbachohon, where three more were brutally murdered.

“Yet, in the face of this terror, the silence from those sworn to protect us is deafening. The Tyoshin people are abandoned and forsaken by the very government that should shield them. The federal government and the Benue State Government remain disturbingly quiet, their inaction a haunting reminder of how alone we truly are. Even the military presence, meant to offer protection, stands idle as the bloodbath continues.
“Our people fall, one by one, as these attackers roam freely, unchallenged and unafraid.”

The group pleaded with President Bola Tinubu, and the Governor of Benue State, Mr. Hyacinth Alia, to come to the rescue of the people of Tyoshin.