No fewer than seventeen persons have been killed by suspected herdsmen in the past one week across three communities of Guma local government area of Benue state.
Former speaker of the Benue state House of Assembly, Dave Iorhemba, stated this weekend in an interview with journalists at Ukpam in Guma local government area of the state.
He named the affected communities to include Ajimaka, Ayeri and Tse-Gboigyo communities, all in Mbaye/Yandev council ward of Guma LGA.
He said the number of casualties recorded in the various communities 17.
“The number of persons we have counted between Friday and today is up to 17 and some are badly injured and are receiving treatment in the hospital,” he noted.
The former speaker stated further that the situation has resulted in a huge, humanitarian crisis.
“I foresee food security problem too because once the farmers cannot go back and do their farming activities and they cannot go back to their ancestral homes, food crisis is imminent.
“There is no food anywhere. Apart from food stuff that government has stock-piled and are distributing to the IDPs, there is no other food anywhere.
“If government is distributing food stuff, does it end there? The people must participate in farming activities to produce food massively,” he added.
Iorhemba commended troops of joint military operation code-named Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) for their efforts at taming the attacks, but added that a lot more needed to be done.
“OPWS is actually assisting, but what I want to say is that they should be swapped.
“They should be moved because when they continue to stay in one place they become conversant and become used to the people and they certainly cannot act in the way and manner they should. So,I would suggest that the federal government should redeploy them, take them to other points,” he said
