· Pope decries killing, prays for peace in Nigeria
· Youths chase away Deputy Gov
· “What is our crime for being Nigerians?”
· FG mum as killings heighten
By Sarah NEGEDU and Laraba MUREY
Angry Benue youths on Sunday took to major roads of the state to protest the killings in the state with an estimated 200 killed in two days by suspected herdsmen in Yelewata and Daudu.
The protesters took over the popular Wurukum Roundabout Sunday morning, preventing vehicular movements from the Northern and Southern parts of the country.
The thousands of protesters who stormed the roundabout as early as 7am singing solidarity songs as they marched round the popular roundabout near the Makurdi Bridge resisted all pleas by the Benue State Police Commissioner, Ifeanyi Emenari and the Deputy Governor, Samuel Ode to vacate the roundabout as commuters remained stranded.
Even the low-flying helicopters that came hovering around the area did not scare the protesters, who stood their ground as they moved around with tree branches and placards with inscriptions like “Stop Benue killings”, “Government has failed us”, “We will not surrender to Fulani” among others.
One of the leaders of the youths and social media influencer, Seedoff Mbapuun alias Benue Pete Edochie, lamented that they embarked on the protest because the attacks and killings in the state were getting out of hand, and the government was not doing enough to end it.
He said: “These attacks have been going on for years and no one is safe anymore and Yelewata is not far from Makurdi. People are killed every day in Benue and the world is not aware. We have had enough that is why we came out to let the world know.”
Youths chase away deputy governor
The youth, shortly after, brought out cooking utensils and two bags of rice to prepare their meal when the Deputy Governor, Sam Ode, drove in to address them.
They refused to listen to him, asking him to leave the scene demanding for the Governor to come and address them.
But in the midst of the confusion, the Deputy Governor drove off, and some policemen fired teargas canisters to disperse the huge group.
In the ensuing stampede, the angry youths remained defiant. They took over the busy New Otukpo Road, making bonfires on segments of the road stretching to the Abu King Shuluwa Road junction.
Who did we offend?
Some Benue sons and daughters are asking if it was a crime for them to be Nigerians owing to the ongoing attacks and killings.
One of such perosons, Catherine Agbo, in a Facebook post on Sunday which has been shared widely wrote:
“Who did Benue people offend and who do we need to apologise to so that these killings can end?
Yes, we may have to do so as a last resort because the helplessness is palpable.
“We have been surrounded on all sides. People are being killed like flies right in suburban communities of the state capital.
“It is only a matter of time before people in the city centre flee for their lives because the killers have surrounded them.
“Just yesterday, over 200 people were killed in a border community. In all of this, what we get from those saddled with the responsibility of protecting us is lack of action and empathy.
“Benue has neighbours including Kogi, Nasarawa, Taraba etc but we do not hear of this magnitude of killings in those states, particularly Kogi.
“Is our government talking with those state governments? How are they able to protect their people?
“Is the federal government aware that the people of Benue are being annihilated?
“Is there no way we can help ourselves as it appears no one is ready to help us?
“Where do we go from here?”
Pope condemns killings, prays for peace
The Roman Catholic Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, has led prayers for victims of the massacre of innocent souls particularly in rural Christian communities in Nigeria’s Benue State by suspected armed herdsmen.
This was contained on the X handle of the Vatican News under the caption: “Pope Leo prays for the victims of a ‘terrible massacre’ in Benue State, Nigeria.
The news item read in part: “Around 200 people were ‘brutally killed’ in Yelwata, in the Guma Local Government Area on the night of the 13th/14th June, the Pope said, most of them internally displaced persons “sheltered by the local Catholic mission”.
“Speaking just before delivering the Sunday Angelus prayer, the Pope prayed for ‘security, justice, and peace’ in Nigeria, adding that he was thinking in particular of the ‘rural Christian communities of the Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence”.
“Responding to the attack, Amnesty International Nigeria on Saturday called on Nigerian authorities to ‘immediately end the almost daily bloodshed in Benue State and bring the actual perpetrators to justice.”
No comment from FG
As anger grows, the federal government was yet to comment on the grave situation on ground in Benue state.
Even the usual press condemnation by the Presidency was not issued as at the time of going to press.
It has left some public commentators wondering why the FG would be interested in the Israel-Iran hostilities when there was no less a similar scenario back home.
