BENUE KILLINGS: Yelwata IDPs protest over starvation in camp

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State yesterday took to the streets of Makurdi to protest starvation in camp.

The displaced people who were conveyed to Makurdi on Saturday night after the attacks on their community between Friday night and Saturday morning accused state government officials of hoarding and diverting relief materials donated by individuals and humanitarian organisations.

The IDPs blocked major entrances leading into the International Market, Makurdi which serves as their temporary camp on George Akume Way to express their grievances.

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Our correspondent reports that it was after the massacre of over 100 people in the Yelwata community that those who fled their homes were transported by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to take shelter in Makurdi.

They said the protest, coming barely four days after their stay in camp, was an attempt to draw attention to the severe hunger, lack of medical care, and inhumane treatment they have suffered since arriving at the camp.

One of the IDPs, Fidelis Igban, told journalists that, “We have lost three people already due to hunger and poor living conditions. People come here to donate food and relief materials, but once these items are handed over to camp officials, we never see them again.”

Igban cited recent donations from Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Dr Paul Enenche, which he said were never distributed to the IDPs.

“We are dying here. Our children are starving, we sleep on bare floors, mosquitoes are killing us, and yet officials are hoarding aid meant for us,” he added.

Igban’s claim of about three people dying at the camp could however not be confirmed by our correspondent.

Another IDP, Erdoo Targa, who is heavily pregnant, expressed similar frustration.

She said, “I’m six months pregnant. There is no food, no medical attention. We are starving, and our children are already falling sick.

“The government brought us here and abandoned us. This protest is to call on authorities and kind-hearted Nigerians to help investigate what’s happening.”

Efforts to get comments from the Commissioner for Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Aondoaseer Kunde, and the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr James Iorpuu, were unsuccessful as calls and messages were not returned.

Meanwhile, SEMA’s Information Officer, Tema Ager, said the situation had been brought under control with food already supplied to the complainants.

Ager debunked the claim that three people died in the camp, saying investigation revealed that those people died outside the camp before their displaced relatives were brought to Makurdi.

“Also, the allegation about a woman having miscarriage in the camp was misinformation. We interviewed some relations and found out that the woman had an abortion before coming to camp but started bleeding this morning (Thursday). She had been taken to the hospital for treatment.

“Food was also distributed to the IDPs on Tuesday and even yesterday. Those protesting are some people inhabiting the neighborhood of the market (camp) who come to pose as IDPs.

“Again, we were not having enough accommodation because some shops were locked by their owners. While we are still rallying around to get accommodation for the new camp arrivals, they started complaining and even their biometric capturing is not complete.

“Those coming newly who are not yet capture was not given rooms. So, that was why they were complaining. The situation has calmed. The heads of security, working in conjunction with SEMA, have brought the challenge under control. They have been given food,” the Information officer posited.

NYSC evacuates corps members from troubled communities

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has evacuated all corps members serving in the troubled communities of Yelwata and Daudu to safer family houses in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

State Coordinator of NYSC, Mrs Veronica Garba, made the disclosure on Thursday in an interview with journalists at Wannune in Tarka Local Government Area of the state.

She said the prompt evacuation was carried out immediately after reports of escalating violence in the affected areas.

“As soon as we received news of the crisis, we contacted the Commissioner of Police who deployed officers to assist in evacuating our corps members,” Garba said.

She noted that the corps members have been safely relocated and are currently staying in designated family houses belonging to the Nigeria Corpers Christian Fellowship (NCCF), the National Association of Catholic Corps Members (NACC), and the Muslim Corpers Association of Nigeria (MCAN) in Makurdi.

“We treat corps members as our own children. After the evacuation, we conducted a headcount and confirmed that none was missing,” she said.

Garba added, “We have settled them in Makurdi for the time being until normalcy returns.”

Alia pledges to partner stakeholders for peace

Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has pledged to work with all stakeholders for restoration of peace in the state.

Alia made the remark on Thursday in a statement to extend his gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his visit to the state following the tragic events, especially the pogrom at Yelwata town in Guma Local Government Area.

In the statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, the governor noted that the president’s presence and support to the state during the challenging time provides the people with hope and strength.

The governor assured the people of Benue State that he will continue to work together with all the critical stakeholders, as his government works towards rebuilding and restoring peace in the state.

He thanked the president for his assurance to work with the state government in order to fashion out a framework that will bring about lasting peace in Benue and for his directives to the security agencies to ensure the criminals are arrested and brought to face the full wrath of the law.

“We deeply appreciate your commitment to addressing the security challenges we face, particularly your directive to the Chief of Defence Staff and the Inspector General of Police.

“Your decisive action to neutralise the threats posed by armed herders reassures us that our safety and the return of our farmers to their lands are priorities for your administration,” he stated.

Northern democrats demand FG’s action over Benue killings

The League of Northern Democrats (LND) has joined people from all over the world to condemn the recent killings in Yelwata community of Benue State.

The group described the attacks as “gruesome” and “mindless,” while calling for urgent and radical intervention by the federal government.

In a press statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the group, Dr Ladan Salihu, the LND said, “We condemn in the strongest terms these senseless killings and urge the federal government to take practical and radical measures to prevent further bloodshed.”

Salihu stressed the need for Nigerians to unite across ideological lines in confronting threats to national unity and peaceful coexistence.

“It is time for Nigeria to move beyond polemics and rhetoric. What we need now is a maximum, coordinated response to tackle the growing menace of insecurity,” he said.

While acknowledging the recent deployment of security leadership to Benue State, the LND called on the government to redouble efforts to restore peace and normalcy to affected communities.

“We call on the federal government to redouble all efforts to restore peace and normality. The league calls on our security agencies to intensify efforts to fish out the criminals and bring them to justice.

Yari seeks whole-of-society cooperation against insecurity

The Senator representing Zamfara West, Alhaji Abdul-Aziz Abubakar Yari, has told the people of Benue State and Nigeria in general that President Tinubu would go after those behind the recent killings in Yelwata, Benue, and bring them to book.

Yari, the Senate Committee Chairman on Water Resources, while condemning what he described as “gruesome murder of the innocent and harmless”, also sought what he identified as “the whole-of-society” approach to combating insecurity.

Addressing the Benue massacre, the former governor of Zamfara State said: “The president is capable of containing the situation and even if it means adopting totally extreme strategies to give every part of the nation peace, he would do it, because he was elected to secure the nation and the people and this much, he understands.”

Yari further said, “I can assure the people of Benue and Nigeria in general that those behind this dastardly act will not get away with their mindlessness. Those in charge of security also know the implication of not living up to billing, so no one is kidding here.“

Yari, however, appealed to the people to also see the security of the society as their business and responsibility.