The Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, Prince Maxwell Ogiri, has called for a united front against the renewed wave of attacks on communities in the area, urging residents, traditional rulers, security agencies and the media to work together to end the killings.
He made the appeal while receiving journalists who visited to condole with the council and people of Otukpo over the recent attacks by suspected armed herders.
Ogiri declared that communities had resolved that strangers should no longer occupy forests and farmlands, insisting that anyone wishing to reside in Otukpo should live within recognised settlements.
“We don’t want people in our bushes anymore. Let the farms be for our farmers. If anyone wants to live with us, let us know their address, see their faces and hear their voices.
“We are not asking anybody not to live among us, but we no longer want people staying in our farm areas”.
He described Otukpo, the traditional headquarters of the Idoma nation, as a historically peaceful town that had never experienced the level of violence currently confronting its people.
Ogiri lamented that many residents now live in fear, unable to sleep peacefully or cultivate their farms because of repeated attacks.
“The level of violence and apprehension among our people was never envisaged. Innocent people who have done nothing to anyone are attacked in the middle of the night and killed. It is the height of callousness.”
He dismissed suggestions that the incidents were herder-farmer clashes, maintaining that the perpetrators were armed bandits carrying out coordinated attacks.
“These are not clashes between neighbours. They are people carrying out organised killings.
“This is the time for all of us to be vigilant, report suspicious movements and work together instead of blaming one another.”
Benue insecurity: We don’t want people in our bushes anymore – Otukpo LG boss, Ogiri