Suspected terrorists killed at least 27 people across Benue and Plateau states over the weekend, in attacks that've reignited safety concerns across the North-Central region. Among the dead were nine members of a single family and a two-month-old infant.
In Benue State, armed herdsmen launched at least 18 separate assaults on communities in Otukpo Local Government Area. The violence appeared to be retaliatory strikes that sparked widespread fury.
The first attack came on Friday when gunmen invaded Akpachi village in Ugboju community and killed two farmers in their fields. Their bodies were recovered on Saturday and laid to rest.
Less than a day later, at around 4 a.m. on Sunday, the assailants struck again. They descended on Otukpo-Nobi community, where at least 16 people died and many others suffered injuries.
The fresh bloodshed followed a killing from just two weeks prior. Ardo Mohammed, the Benue State chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, and his associate Yakubu Isah were ambushed and murdered at Okutu community in Otukpo.
The pair were returning from a peace meeting in Idekpa, Ohimini Local Government Area.
Angry youths responded by marching to the palace of the Och'Idoma, the traditional ruler, carrying the bodies of the slain. They disrupted a church service underway and demanded that authorities take decisive steps to end the recurring bloodshed.
Singing war songs, the protesters blamed officials for failing to safeguard their communities. "Enough is enough," they chanted as they blocked major roads and paralysed movement in and out of Otukpo.
Ebi Adoyi, a resident, called on both the Federal Government and the Benue State administration to rush additional security forces to the region. "After killing two people in Ikpachi on Friday, this morning, they attacked Otukpo Nobi killing 16 persons including women and children," he told reporters.
Adoyi said his neighbour lost her sister and the sister's children in the assault. He noted that the actual toll could climb higher as search efforts continued for missing persons.
"Angry youths have taken over all the roads leading in and out of Otukpo, and the protest will continue in the days to come because we are tired of these killings without any tangible action from the authorities," he said.
He added that even the state's commissioner of police faced delays during a visit to the community. "The commissioner spent hours on the road before he was eventually allowed passage after persistent appeals," Adoyi explained.
Maxwell Ogiri, the chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, acknowledged the attacks and linked them to possible revenge operations. He said the killing of the MACBAN chairman would likely spark retaliation given the mindset of those involved in the violence.
