- In the last couple of years, nearly one thousand hapless residents of the state were brutally murdered in mindless and unconscionable onslaughts by armed non-state actors across the State.
In the Obasanjo’s years, one headline news that had a salutary and appreciative effect somewhat on his presidency was his ability to maintain order and secure the lives and properties of Nigerians. Aside from pockets of skirmishes occasioned by confrontation among warring communities, the nation was largely peaceful and secure when he oversaw its affairs. The large-scale abductions, brutal attacks, violence and wanton killings that have become a permanent feature of Nigeria today were largely unheard of during his administration. Many of the marauding armed non-state actors that are unleashing terror on Nigerians today were absent when he was at the helm of affairs.
The relative peace and security that the nation enjoyed then has since paved the way for perennial insecurity, which is occasioned by the mindless killing of unarmed and hapless Nigerians. While virtually every part of the country is grappling with one form of insecurity or the other, Benue State has been the worst hit by the deepening security crisis. The killings in Benue have reached a frightening height and deeply unsettling level. Over two hundred people were killed in an attack that took place on Friday night well into Saturday morning, marking a new episode of bloodletting in the state that has been grappling with wanton killings and incessant attacks for months on end.
The latest carnage came less than two weeks after over 100 people were killed in violent attacks across the beleaguered state earlier in the month. In the last couple of years, nearly one thousand hapless residents of the state were brutally murdered in mindless and unconscionable onslaughts by armed non-state actors across the State. Over 500 people were killed in 2023. In the first quarter of 2024, 239 were killed, 60 injured and 65 kidnapped in 67 attacks throughout the State. The killings in Benue were forever a man-imposed sword of Damocles on an innocent citizenry. It became a festering, cancerous sore because we wanted it so.
The response of the government to these incessant attacks has left so much to be desired. Aside from half-hearted and bland statements condemning these killings, the government has not taken any concrete steps in going after those perpetrating these nefarious and diabolical acts. It has not demonstrated a genuine commitment to protecting the people. Troubling reports of how locals, who formed vigilante outfits to defend themselves and fend off the invaders, were disarmed and left vulnerable have also come to public knowledge.
While in the past, whenever these massacres happened, the government feigned concern and showed some semblance of action, but the reaction of the government to these fresh waves of killings has been utterly shocking. The presidency is yet to release a statement condemning the killings even though the president finds it convenient to issue a statement in celebration of this year’s father’s day.
One is left to wonder why the security agencies, especially the military, are not treating the security challenges in Benue and other state in the Middle Belt with the same seriousness and commitment with which they are addressing the security crisis in other parts of the country. Labelling the attacks and killings in the troubled Middle Belt States to communal crisis is not only disturbingly false and dishonest but also wicked. Such a label serves to downplay the severity and magnitude of the problem in that part of the country as the arable land, the scenic and beautiful landscape of Benue is now flowing with the blood of its indigenous people.
The bone-chilling impunity and utter lack of compunction with which the attacks and killings are perpetrated have led some to conclude that the perpetrators enjoy some level of support and protection from certain elements in the Nigerian State. These onslaughts also have a devastating effect on the nation’s economy. The high food inflation that Nigerians are not unconnected to the killings and displacement of farmers in the country, especially the Middle Belt, which is the food basket of the nation and accounts for the production of over 50% of agricultural produce in the country.
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