Public outrage has deepened in Benue following a brutal attack in the border town of Yelwata, which left dozens dead and communities reeling with grief.

Gwaza Madaki, a lawyer and public affairs analyst in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday called the situation “painful beyond description” and expressed disbelief that such violence could occur within sight of a longstanding military checkpoint.

The attack, which began late at night and continued into the early hours, occurred despite the presence of a Nigerian Army formation stationed just meters away.

“There is a military check point that has been there for at least five years, these military check point is populated with not less by 15 soldiers, “I think headed by a captain or there about I’m not specified and I don’t know the exact rank of the officer in-charge but there is a permanent feature of the Nigeria Army located in Yelwata so it becomes difficult to understand how these attacks would go between 10-11pm midnight and last for hours all the way to the early morning without any intervention by these very formation that is right at the door step of Yelwata.”

Yelwata sits directly on the road linking Benue and Nasarawa states, not tucked away in a remote location. “If you move from Nasawara state to Benue, Yelwata is on the road it is not a village, maybe a kilometer, it is directly on the road. “it is one of those villages where the catholic church’s by the road, primary school is by the road, the market is by the road, and everything is by the road. He explained.

Madaki noted that the same area has suffered repeated attacks, including a recent incident in Daudu. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had previously ordered the Chief of Army Staff to relocate to Benue to address the crisis. Yet, according to Madaki, when the army chief visited, he met with his officers and briefly with the governor but failed to meet with community leaders, traditional rulers, and civil society representatives assembled in anticipation.

“We have a situation where a few weeks ago where this same killings happened in daudu and a couple of other places In Agom, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had directed that the chief of army staff should relocate to Benue state and resolve this matter. “I can tell that the army Chief got to Benue state met with his officers because Benue state hosts two army formations there is the Nigerian army school of engineering and then there is the 72 special forces battalion, all of them are world bank. Agom the village that was attacked a week or two weeks ago is 200m away from the fence of the 72 special forces battalion.”

“There was no interaction with the Och’Idoma, first-class chiefs, or youth leaders. The stakeholders were ignored,” Madaki said. “It’s difficult to understand and for us in Guma Local Government, we are in a state of shock and perhaps feeling like orphans, feeling abandoned by those who have the responsibility to protect and safe guard the lives of our people and their properties.”

Following the most recent killings, residents staged a protest in Makurdi to express their anger and frustration. Although the protest was eventually disrupted, Madaki commended the community’s courage in making their voices heard. “Now for yesterday the protest that happened in Makurdi, it was one of those times that you sit and you wish that were around to be part of that outing because that is the only way the people can express the angst and the emotion that has build in them. “To witness this kind of things but again the way everything happened and eventually it got a little bit distracted and all of that we are at least hopeful and grateful that we had the opportunity to come out and express ourselves in that matter.”

He also highlighted the ongoing humanitarian crisis, noting that over 17 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps now exist across Benue State, housing thousands of families since as far back as 2016.

Madaki stressed that both state and federal governments must do more, calling for urgent support and sustained intervention to assist the displaced. “We all know that so-called emergency are not just state base they all fall under the preview of the federal government as well. As much as intervention that can be gotten and as much support that can be secured for our people would be very much welcome, because the squall up it’s a different situation to look at.”

Tragically, even institutions of refuge like churches have not been spared. “And for those that are also housed by the charity organisations like the Catholic Church to now get attacked like what happened in yelwata, particularly it’s a very painful situation.” (AriseNews TV)

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