April 27, 2021

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the Abagana camp have blocked the Markurdi-Lafia Federal Highway protesting the recent killings by herdsmen and laying the corpses of the victims on the road.

The suspected herdsmen on Tuesday morning invaded Abagana IDP camp killing seven persons and injuring about 15 of them.

According to an eyewitness account present at the protest, the armed herdsmen stormed the IDP camp and started shooting at the people killing seven and leaving many others injured.

According to Channels Television report, the eyewitness warned that they will resort to arms to defend themselves if the Federal Government does not intervene.

The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom during a visit to the scene of the protest challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to rise up to the defence of vulnerable rural farming communities and Internally Displace Persons.

The crowd at the Markudi-Lafia Highway, alongside Governor Samuel Ortom

The governor also asked the President to allow them to acquire weapons to fight armed Fulani herdsmen following the attack on the camp.

He further asked the President to convene a National Security Summit to get the true picture of the killings allegedly attributed to the bandit, noting that 70 people have been killed in the last one month with no actionable intelligence to track the perpetrators.