The Senate president, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Thursday has condemned the killings in Benue State describing it ‘a callous act’.
On New Year day (Jan 1, 2018), about 50 residents of six communities in the State were murdered in a suspected herdsmen’s attack, with many casualties which were rushed to the State University Teaching hospital in Makurdi.
Among the dead seen brought to the hospital, Tuesday afternoon was a father and his two-year-old son as well as a young man who was said to just returned home three days before the attack – after completing his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Nigerian Tribune reporter, Johnson Babjide reporting from the State mentioned Gaambe-Tiev, Ayilamo and Turan all in Logo Local Government Area as well as Umenger, Tse-Akor and Tomatar near Tse-Abi in Nongov District of Guma Local government area, as the affected communities in the State.
The State Governor, Samuel Ortom who lamented the gruesome murder of innocent people of the state by the invading herdsmen urged the federal government to act fast on this matter to forestall a break out of anarchy in the State.
However, the residents of the area staged an impromptu protest to display their contempt of the incident. The governor who went to the protest scene to calm them received ‘a stone attack welcome’.
The Senate president on Thursday responded to the rancour in the State by showing his displeasure of the event in his tweet:
“Tuesday’s heinous killings in Benue State that has left countless families without their loved ones was a reprehensible act of violence. As Nigerians, we must all remain united in our condemnation of all such violence.”
“I join all Nigerians in grieving and praying for all that have been affected. Such actions have no place in Nigeria. The perpetrators of this callous act must be caught and brought to justice – the Senate will continue to ensure that this happens.”
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