Again, suspected herdsmen attack 3 Benue communities,
By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo
BENUE—No fewer than three communities in Benue State were subjected to fresh attacks on Wednesday by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
This came as the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, has urged federal and state governments to urgently establish trauma healing initiatives for victims of insurgency in Plateau and Benue states.
The communities include Emichi, Odudaje and Okpamaju, all in Otukpo Local Government Area, where five persons were killed in February.
The attacks came barely twenty-four hours after 13 persons were killed and 50 houses razed by herders at Tobi in the same LGA on Tuesday night.
But Governor Hyacinth Alia, said no fewer than three suspects had been arrested in connection with the attack on Otobi community.
Confirming the attack, the chairman of Otukpo council, Maxwell Ogiri, said the attackers stormed the communities at the time the Commissioner of Police was still at the Ochidoma Palace over the previous day’s attack on Otobi.
He added that three persons sustained injury in the attacks on the three communities, leading to women and children fleeing the communities for fear of being killed.“Only young men were in the communities when the attackers arrived. The prompt response from combined security operatives made the attackers flee and none of them was arrested,” Ogiri stated.
Meanwhile, three suspected herdsmen have been arrested, following the attacks that led to the killing of 13 persons at Otobi community in Otupko council.
Governor Alia, who disclosed this at Government House in Makurdi, the state capital, expressed worry over the situation and called on security agencies to track down the perpetrators.
According to him, the National Security Advisor, Nuhu Ribadu, has promised to deploy more security assets to the state to arrest the renewed wave of attacks in the state, especially the Otukpo axis. The governor also announced the deployment of security personnel to the affected area.
According to the member representing Otukpo-Akpa Constituency in Benue State House of Assembly, Kennedy Angbo, nine corpses were recovered Tuesday night, followed by one in a hard-to-reach area later that evening.By dawn Wednesday, other corpses were found, bringing the total number of fatalities to 11.
Northern CAN mulls setting of trauma healing centres for victims
The association said doing so would be part of broader efforts to restore peace and rebuild Northern Nigeria.
In its 2025 Easter message by the chairman, Rev. John Hayab, the association said: “The physical wounds may heal, but the emotional and psychological trauma many victims are facing, especially in Plateau and Benue require structured healing and rehabilitation. There can be no true recovery without addressing the scars left behind by violence”.
The association stressed the need for a renewed and strategic security architecture to decisively tackle rising insecurity, and demanded adequate compensation and rehabilitation for victims of banditry, communal conflicts and insurgency.
On the role of women in nation-building, the association said that no meaningful development can be achieved without empowering women to take their rightful place in society,adding that women are moral anchors, peacebuilders and silent architects of social change.
“Denying girls access to education not only limits individual potential but threatens the region’s collective future. Government and community leaders should invest deliberately in girl-child education, structured mentorship, and leadership development for women.”
They called for the implementation of inclusive governance policies that promote justice, equity, and dignity, adding that such steps are critical to securing long-term peace in the North.
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By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo BENUE—No fewer than three communities in Benue State were subjected to fresh attacks on Wednesday by suspected Fulani herdsmen. This came as the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, has urged federal and state governments to urgently establish trauma healing initiatives for victims […]
The post Again, suspected herdsmen attack 3 Benue communities appeared first on Vanguard News.
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