Music star Innocent ‘2Baba’ Idibia has called for an end to the ongoing killings in Benue State.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that terrorists attacked the refugee town of Yelewata in Guma Local Government Area on Friday, killing over 100 people.
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The incident occurred barely two weeks after the Chief of Army Staff, Olufemi Oluyede, visited the state to curb the rising violence.
Reacting to the massacre, which has thrown the state into chaos, the ‘African Queen’ singer expressed deep sorrow in a statement posted on his Instagram page on Monday.
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The 49-year-old, who serves as Technical Adviser on Entertainment and Community Outreach to the state governor, Hyacinth Alia, condemned the killings and urged the government to take decisive action.
Ridiculous killings
The Benue State indigene said: “It’s annoying, I don’t even know where to start expressing my sadness, my grief, my anger, my frustration. For these things that keep happening, happening over and over and over again. Every time we call on the governor, we call on the president, we call on, how about, oh man, this thing is not funny anymore.
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“It’s not funny anymore, it’s gone beyond just condemning. Serious action, oh, every serious action needs to start to take place. Every stakeholder needs to come together to fight this dark part. We need a solution, we need, let’s be serious with this solution.”
He added that the killings are not chastening but increasingly ridiculous.
“My heart is heavy, terribly sad, terribly angry. What’s going on in my state has become a national emergency. I can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t even know what to say at this point.
“It’s going to be business as usual, I’m going to condemn the people. This has to stop; this thing has to stop. It has to involve everybody. Every stakeholder in this country, every stakeholder in every state”, said 2Baba.
Intervention
This newspaper reported that President Bola Tinubu has ordered security agencies to end the ongoing bloodshed in the state, according to a statement released on Sunday evening by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga.
The directive is part of the federal government’s broader efforts to address the persistent violence in the region.
Following the president’s instruction, top security personnel, including intelligence operatives, senior police officers, and military commanders, have been deployed to the state to take charge of operations to restore order.
The president’s order came after a group of angry youths in Yelwata staged a protest against the killings, blocking the Lafia-Makurdi expressway.
The protest later spread to Makurdi, the state capital, where police officers fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
In addition, Mr Tinubu urged Mr Alia to initiate peace talks and reconciliation efforts among all parties involved.
He stressed the need for dialogue to stop the cycle of violence and promote peaceful cohabitation between farming and herding communities.
The conflict in Benue, similar to crises in other parts of North-central Nigeria, stems from long-standing tensions between farmers and herders competing for access to land and water.
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