Benue has organised mass burial for 15 victims of bandits’ attack, including women and children, killed on 28 July when suspected armed herders attacked the farming community in Ugboju District.

AIT reported the mass burial, saying residents gathered in Efeyi-Utikpi to lay the victims to rest, weeks after a similar attack in the same local government area.

The report said the attack left homes destroyed and residents traumatised, with community leaders urging the federal and state governments to move beyond condemnations and provide effective protection for vulnerable farming communities.

 A representative of Equipping the Persecuted, a United States-based non-governmental organisation, reportedly announced financial assistance for the bereaved families and local vigilante groups.

The burial came less than three weeks after another attack in Otukpo-Nobi, where eight victims were buried following an assault on the community on 12 July.

It was earlier reported that police confirmed the attack, saying five adults and three children were killed.

The Commissioner of Police in Benue, Cletus Nwadiogbu, described the incident as a terrorist attack and said the attackers used guerrilla tactics before fleeing into nearby forests.

The attacks have continued to raise concerns over the safety of farmers in Benue, where insecurity has disrupted agricultural activities and displaced residents from their ancestral communities.

In a related development, a farmer in Mbagena Council Ward of Katsina-Ala local government area has reportedly abandoned his farm after suspected local bandits demanded N500,000 before allowing him to harvest his crops.

The farmer’s son, John James, stated this at a capacity-building workshop on promoting safety, security, rights, accountability and access to justice organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project in Makurdi.

James said armed men invaded his father’s home about two weeks ago and demanded the money, threatening him after he pleaded for more time.

He said the bandits abducted his mother after his father failed to meet the initial deadline.

 “These people are moving freely in our vicinity, and they are local bandits. In fact, some of them are known to the villagers because they are from the same community,” he said.

He added that other farmers had suffered similar attacks and that residents were reluctant to report the incidents to the police for fear of reprisals. (Premium Times)