“Fresh Killings in Benue Ignite Massive Protests: Latest Updates and Reactions”

Suspected bandits killed 11 people on Wednesday morning in Ayati community of Ukum Local Government Area in Benue State, sparking a wild protest in the vicinity.

Ukum, one of the three LGAs in the Sankera ancestral bloc, has endured the terror of armed outlaws for many years, despite numerous joint security operations targeting gangsterism in the area.

Early Wednesday morning, residents reported that bandits attacked Ayati, the headquarters of Borikyo ward. The assailants, in large numbers, killed 11 people and injured many others.

In response to this tragic event, enraged Borikyo youths took to the Sankera-Ayati-Sai road and the Ukum local government secretariat, voicing their anguish over the ongoing violence in their community.

The angry protesters vandalized the council secretariat, shattering windows and destroying everything in sight with stones and sticks.

A resident informed our correspondent over the phone, “The gunmen opened gunfire and killed seven people on the spot at night. More bodies were recovered hours later bringing the causalities to 11. Now, the youths are protesting seriously.

“They have barricaded the roads with the dead bodies, asking Governor Hyacinth Alia to act because the killings have continued so long without any clear steps to end the madness.

“They are protesting at Sankera, the headquarters of Ukum LGA. Angry youths are currently demonstrating to register their grievances about the continuous killing of innocent and defenceless people of Borikyo in Ukum LGA on a daily basis without any action from government to arrest the ugly situation.”

Chief Joseph Har, the Internal Security Adviser to the Benue State Governor, informed journalists in Makurdi that the protesters were threatening to burn down the LG secretariat due to the ongoing killings in the area.

Har added, “We don’t have the details yet but bandits are responsible. They (youths) are protesting and threatening to burn down the LG secretariat but they are aware that the state government has dislodged these bandits.

“So what the bandits just did is what we call in security parlance, ‘the last kick of a dying horse.’

“Just a few days ago, there was massive destruction of their camps in Katsina Ala. So this is their last kick. They have been dislodged and they are trying everything they can to vent their anger on the armless people and possibly cause confusion in the towns.

“I have spoken to the leader of the youths and I told them to be patient. Government is going to sustain the momentum. We will not be deterred by the killings but we will sustain the heat and pressure on them so they can be degraded completely.”

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident in a text message to our correspondent, stating, “I’m aware of the protest but I’m yet to receive details.”