Killings: Benue Agency raises alarm over humanitarian crisis

From: Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Benue State Emergency Management Agency SEMA, has raised alarm at the humanitarian crisis posed by the killing of several persons by armed herdsmen.

It should be noted that over 70 persons have been murdered by armed Fulani herdsmen in the past two(2) weeks in  different locations in the State including the killing of seven Internally Displaced Persons on Tuesday at the Abagena camp housing over 8000 IDPs at the outskirt of Makurdi, Benue State capital.

Head of the State Humanitarian Agency Dr. Emmanuel Shior decried the incessant cases of marauding herdsmen attacks on communities in the State, appealing to the international community to come to their aid to end the carnage and provide relief support to the affected people.

Dr. Shior said the appeal has become inevitable because of the huge task resting on the soulders of the state government on how to manage the crisis.

He also lamented over inadequacy of policemen in some of the camps and appealed to the Inspector General of Police to deploy more policemen to the state to assist secure the people living in the eight designated IDP camps.

“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Inspector General of Police to further appeal to President Mohammadu Buhari to provide more policemen to the state to help secure the IDP camps.

“I also want to call on the international community to come to the aid of the IDPs. In Benue here, in the area of humanitarian crisis, we work with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), we work with International Committee for the Red Cross, we work with Doctors without borders and other humanitarian partners to help the state in the stemming the growing insecurity situation bedevilling the state”.

The SEMA Executive Secretaryexpressed fears of possible attack on other IDP camps by the assailants, and appealed to people of the state to join hands with Governor Samuel Ortom to amerliorate the plight of the displaced persons.

He said that the government has received reports of a similar attack at Mbagwen camp in Guma local government area, intimating that officials of the agency have been deployed to the area to profile the IDPs to enable goverment extend intervention support to them.