AS the World commemorates this year’s Humanitarian Day Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has called on international organizations to remember the 500,000 victims of herdsmen attack in Benue state.
Ortom who appealed to United Nations, other international bodies and civil society organizations expressed sadness that the state had since the past eight years become target of herdsmen attack.
Ortom in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase said he was elated by the theme of this year World Humanitarian Day ‘Not a Target’.
He lamented that the people of Benue state have become targets of armed herdsmen attacks in gross violation of global conventions on the right to life and human dignity.
The governor cried out that the humanitarian crisis occasioned by armed herdsmen attacks the last eight months have overstretched lean resources of the state.
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Ortom recounted that hundreds of lives have been lost, homes, schools, churches and health centres destroyed with over 180,000 people in eight Internally Displaced Persons, IDP camps and over 500,000 displaced people either living with relatives or in uncompleted buildings across several local government areas.
The governor said that out of the number of those in the camps, 80,000 have been children forced out of school with over 2,000 pregnant women and 2,766 nursing mothers.
While appreciating humanitarian groups such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, civil society organisations and the media for their interventions in bringing succour to the IDPs the governor also commended the Nigerian military for the ongoing Operation Whirl Stroke in which some soldiers have been casualties.
He further assured the people of the state that his administration will not relent in its bid to see the end of armed herdsmen attacks aimed at conquest and occupation of the Benue Valley.
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