Mass Burial For 15 Benue Attack Victims As Farmers Face Bandits’ Levies

 

Fifteen victims of a July 28 attack in Otukpo were buried on Saturday as residents of another Benue community reported that bandits were imposing levies on farmers to access their fields

Fifteen people killed in Efeyi-Utikpi, Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, have been given a .mass burial amid grief and renewed calls for stronger security in the state’s rural communities.

The victims, including women and children, were killed on 28 July when suspected armed herders attacked the farming community in the Ugboju District.

According to AIT, which reported the mass burial on Sunday, residents gathered in Efeyi-Utikpi to lay the victims to rest, weeks after a similar attack in the same local government area.

The report said the attack left homes destroyed and residents traumatised, with community leaders urging the federal and state governments to move beyond condemnations and provide effective protection for vulnerable farming communities.

A representative of Equipping the Persecuted, a United States-based non-governmental organisation, reportedly announced financial assistance for the bereaved families and local vigilante groups.

The burial came less than three weeks after another attack in Otukpo-Nobi, where eight victims were buried following an assault on the community on 12 July.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that police confirmed the attack, saying five adults and three children were killed.

The Commissioner of Police in Benue, Cletus Nwadiogbu, described the incident as a terrorist attack and said the attackers used guerrilla tactics before fleeing into nearby forests.

The attacks have continued to raise concerns over the safety of farmers in Benue, where insecurity has disrupted agricultural activities and displaced residents from their ancestral communities.

Farmers under siege
In a related development, a farmer in Mbagena Council Ward of Katsina-Ala Local Government Area has reportedly abandoned his farm after suspected local bandits demanded N500,000 before allowing him to harvest his crops.

The farmer’s son, John James, disclosed this at a capacity-building workshop on promoting safety, security, rights, accountability and access to justice organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project in Makurdi.

Mr James said armed men invaded his father’s home about two weeks ago and demanded the money, threatening him after he pleaded for more time.

According to him, the bandits later abducted his mother after his father failed to meet the initial deadline.

“They charged him to pay a ransom of N500,000. My father pleaded with them because there was nothing at the moment. He had to plead with them for our lives because contacting the security will only worsen the situation,” Mr James said.

He said his father eventually paid N200,000 and was allowed to harvest part of his groundnut, beniseed and soybean crops, but the attackers demanded another N300,000 before he could harvest the remaining produce.

Mr James said his father subsequently fled the community, leaving his farm produce behind.

“These people are moving freely in our vicinity, and they are local bandits. In fact, some of them are known to the villagers because they are from the same community,” he said.

He added that other farmers had suffered similar attacks and that residents were reluctant to report the incidents to the police for fear of reprisals.

The development highlights the growing security challenges confronting farmers in Benue, where attacks have repeatedly disrupted farming and forced residents to abandon their communities.

On 17 July, troops of Operation Whirl Stroke reported rescuing three kidnapped victims during an operation in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area.

The troops said they neutralised two suspected terrorists and recovered firearms and ammunition from a hideout.

The renewed attacks also followed the killing of the Benue chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Risku Mohammed, on 26 June, which residents have linked to subsequent reprisal attacks in parts of Benue South.

The Benue State Government has repeatedly directed security agencies to intensify operations in affected communities, while Governor Hyacinth Alia has called for the safe return of displaced residents to their ancestral homes.

The latest mass burial and reported farm levies underscore the continuing difficulty faced by rural communities trying to farm amid persistent insecurity.

SOURCE: PREMIUM TIMES