By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: The Federal Government has been urged to step into the deadly communal crisis between Akpa-Mbakor and Agasha in Benue State, where a leader in one of the communities said over 500 houses have been razed in two months.
Community leader and environmental consultant, Arc. Patrick Ukura, said the destruction in Akpa, a community in Mbakor, Tarka Local Government Area, includes his ancestral home and public utilities.
Ukura, the younger brother of a former Auditor-General for the Federation, Dr Samuel Ukura, accused the Benue State Government of failing in its statutory responsibility to protect the lives and property of rural dwellers.
In a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, he alleged that the state government has remained docile while his kinsmen in Akpa-Mbakor are killed and property worth millions of Naira destroyed.
He said the clash between Akpa-Mbakor and Agasha in Guma Local Government Area has claimed several innocent lives and caused the most devastating destruction the community has witnessed.
Tarka is the home local government area of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Senator George Akume, while Guma is that of the immediate past Governor of Benue State, Dr Samuel Ortom.
Ukura said the government of Governor Hyacinth Iormem-Alia has deliberately refused to act while the two hitherto peaceful communities remain locked in the crisis.
He questioned the rationale for the state government’s ineptitude, especially with the 2027 general election fast approaching.
Ukura also alleged that the state government might be making huge political capital out of the crisis, hence its laissez-faire approach to a clash that has claimed the lives of several innocent citizens, particularly from Tarka.
He called on the FG to intervene to save his people from carnage and protect the sanctity of human lives.
According to him, efforts by stakeholders in the area have yielded no fruitful results. They include Governor Alia’s Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Terlumun Dwem, and Commissioner for Housing, Roy Ashirga. Others are the Tor Lobi, HRH Mfave Anagende, the Tor Jemgbah, HRH Afatyo Ajoko, and the President General of Mzough-u-Tiv, Rtd Comdr. A. Agbecha.
“More worrisome are the failed attempts by critical stakeholders, including Commissioner Terlumun Dwem. How can the Benue State Government allow this crisis to persist?” he asked.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the SGF is saddened by the development and is taking steps to end the dispute.
The crisis broke out on August 5, 2026 over an unauthorised burial of a corpse on Akpa-Mbakor ancestral land, and has continued unabated, with lives lost and property destroyed.
“Why has the Benue State Government failed in her primary responsibility to safeguard the lives and properties of her citizens for this long? My people’s means of livelihood are destroyed daily, yet the governor does not care. Why play politics with human lives?”, he queried.
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