The death toll from Wednesday’s herdsmen attack on the Gbeji community in Benue state’s Ukum Local Government Area, LGA, has risen to 36, even as Senator Gabriel Suswam, who represents Benue North East Senatorial District and is a former governor of the state, said the killing of his innocent farming constituents was an indication that the Federal Government was sleeping on its responsibilities.
It should be remembered that armed herdsmen attacked Gbeji in the early hours of Wednesday, killing a police officer and 22 others and critically injuring 12 others.
Senator Suswam, who visited the besieged community over the weekend to commiserate with the victims, noted that the Federal Government was exposing its nakedness by allowing the killings to continue.
The lawmaker insisted that the killings also revealed the President’s ineptitude and lax attitude toward protecting the lives and property of the people he swore to protect.
“Only one week ago, I visited Mchia, which is within the same radius as Gbeji, where 22 people were murdered and several others were injured,” he said.
“These incessant killings are highly unacceptable and unfortunate,” he says, “and smack of the Federal Government’s neglect of the people.” According to the former Governor, the time had come for the people to “rise up and defend themselves from the killer herders because the Federal Government has failed in its responsibilities.”
“The Federal Government has gone to sleep and no longer cares about people’s security.” These are peasant farmers whose property has been destroyed and their lives have been snuffed out.
“I commend our security agencies’ bravery and gallantry, but they are overstretched in this situation.”
“I honestly cannot sleep in Abuja while our people and mothers who farm the food we eat are being slaughtered in this manner.”
According to Ataa, a survivor of the attack, “another 13 corpses have been recovered from the bush and we are still searching for more people because some persons are still missing” after the initial 23 corpses were recovered.
Vladimir Chimaobi reporting, Obinwannem News writer 22/10/2022
