President Bola Tinubu has reiterated his directive to security chiefs to end the wanton killings in Benue State following the latest massacre of more than 100 people in Yelwata in the Guma Local Government Area.
Mr Tinubu’s latest directive was disclosed in a Sunday evening statement signed by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga. The statement was released hours after Pope Leo XIV prayed for the victims of the “terrible massacre” in Benue.
Mr Onanuga stated that intelligence chiefs and senior officials of the police and the military have arrived in the state to direct security operations and restore sanity following the president’s directive.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that more than 100 people were killed by armed men suspected to be Fulani militias.
Subsequently, the youth of Yelwata blocked the Lafia-Makurdi highway, protesting the killings.
The protest continued Sunday morning in the capital city of Makurdi with police firing teargas to disperse the protesters.
The president also charged Governor Hyacinth Alia to convene “reconciliation meetings and dialogue among the warring parties to end the incessant bloodshed and bring lasting peace and harmonious coexistence between farmers, herders, and communities.”
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The violence in Benue, like other states in the North-central, is rooted in resource-based conflict between farmers and herders who fight over limited resources [land and water].
Mr Tinubu, who also described the continuous violence as “inhuman and anti-progress”, also called on political and community leaders in conflict areas to stop fuelling the crisis through “unguarded utterances and statements that could further inflame tensions.”
He also ordered that those who go out to cause provocations and ignite reprisal attacks should be restrained.
“The latest news of wanton killings in Benue State is very depressing. We must not allow this bloodletting to continue unabated. Enough is now enough,” the president said.
He added: “I have directed the security agencies to act decisively and arrest perpetrators of these evil acts on all sides of the conflict and prosecute them.
“Political and community leaders in Benue State must act responsibly and avoid inflammatory utterances that could further increase tensions and killings.
“This is the time for Governor Alia to act as a statesman and immediately lead the process of dialogue and reconciliation that will bring peace to Benue. Our people must live in peace, and it is possible when leaders across the divides work together in harmony and differences are identified and addressed with fairness, openness and justice.”
Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV has prayed for the victims of what he described as a “terrible massacre” in Benue State.
According to Vatican News, the Pope noted that most of the people killed were being “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.”
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