By John Moses
The Movement for Igede Advancement (MIA) has called on the Nigeria Police Force to address the escalating security crisis between the Bonta and Ukpute communities in Konshisha and Oju Local Government Areas of Benue State.
In a letter submitted to the Benue State Commissioner of Police by an 11-man delegation, MIA, a civil society organisation advocating for the development of the Igede people, lamented the devastating impact of the prolonged conflict on the lives, economy, and security of the people in the Oju/Obi Federal Constituency and neighboring regions.
Signed by Dr. Jonah Ogbaji, Chairman; James Igiri Odeh, Secretary; and made available to journalists by Hon. Joseph Ode, Publicity Secretary, the letter emphasised the dire need for immediate intervention to reopen the critical Oju-Achoho Road, which has been blocked for five months.
Recall that the conflict between the Bonta and Ukpute communities has persisted for years, causing widespread hardship in the communities, including loss of lives and properties and humanitarian crisis.
According to MIA, the Bonta people have repeatedly used the Oju-Achoho Road as a weapon of war, cutting off access for residents and traders during clashes.
Specifically, the group appealed for the deployment of security personnel to dismantle the illegal roadblock at Bonta, alongside the arrest and prosecution of those responsible.
Additionally, the MIA called for the establishment of heavily manned joint security checkpoints and a permanent security post in the crisis area to protect lives, property, and the socioeconomic stability of the affected communities.
They also MIA seeks adequate security provisions for officials conducting boundary demarcation duties in the region and demanded the arrest and prosecution of individuals inciting violence and spreading provocative rumors.
The group noted that the road, the shortest and most viable link between Oju/Obi and the Benue State capital, Makurdi, has remained inaccessible since the resurgence of hostilities in July 2024.
MIA emphasised that this blockade has severely disrupted economic activities, leaving farmers and traders unable to access markets, trapped residents of Oju and Obi Local Government Areas and causing psychological distress and economic stagnation.
They further outlined that blockade has led to the ambush and seizure of goods, including a truckload of federal government palliative fertilizers and exacerbated hunger, sickness, and avoidable deaths in affected communities.
MAI also raised alarms over public threats from Bonta youths against the Igede people, including a widely circulated Facebook post by one Monos Theo, which referenced previous violent acts.
The group stressed that these threats cannot be dismissed, citing the Bonta community’s history of hostility toward law enforcement and disregard for constituted authority.
MIA expressed confidence in the Nigeria Police Force’s capacity to restore peace and urged the Commissioner of Police to act swiftly to prevent further loss of lives and property.
The letter reads in parts, “We write to passionately appeal to the Nigeria Police Force to save us from the grave security and existential threats posed by the persistent conflict between the Bonta and Ukpute communities.
The Bonta people have turned the road into a weapon of war, not just against their Ukpute enemies but against the entire Oju/Obi community. This blockade has aggravated hunger, sickness, and avoidable deaths in our communities”
“ For five months, the efforts of local police and security agencies have not been sufficient to control the communal conflict or dislodge the blockade of this all-important road.”
“Some Bonta youths, acting on the authority of their elders, have openly threatened to wipe out our people. A Facebook post by one Monos Theo stated, ‘If Bonta people could kill 11 men and an officer of the Nigerian military, who are the Igede people to withstand them?’”
“We seek the immediate deployment of security personnel to dismantle the illegal roadblock, the establishment of permanent joint security posts between the warring communities, and the prosecution of those inciting violence.”
“We do not believe that the Bonta community’s instruments of violence can withstand the combined security infrastructure of the Federal and Benue State governments. We have no doubt in your capacity to restore peace and good neighborliness.”
