Admin l Thursday, October 05, 2017
MAKURDI, Benue, Nigeria – Members of Benue Journalists’ Forum Nigeria (BJFN), an association of professional journalists of Benue State extraction have called on the Inspector General of Police and Benue State Government to investigate an allegation that more than 400 unknown armed men have been camping in the mountainous community of Turan, Kwande Local Government Area of the state since early September, 2017.
In a statement jointly signed by Comrades Joseph Saater Undu and Godwin Anyebe President and Vice President respectively of the association, the forum alleged that men suspected to be herders and non residents of the community, have entered the unoccupied terrain through Cameroun border and Kashimbila, a border town between Taraba and Benue states, and are gradually moving towards the inhabited areas of the community.
“We are compelled to make this disclosure based on the highly commendable whistle blowing policy of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration and the recent groundbreaking discovery of a fake military base in Okpokwu area of the state by the Nigerian Army on Tuesday 26th September, 2017, where the fake soldiers in the base were alleged to have been operating a criminal enterprise and training high profile criminals”, they said.
The forum noted that available information revealed that these herdsmen came with cattles laden with loads suspected to be arms and ammunition.
“A young Tiv hunter who discovered the unknown men in the mountainous region of the community said, some of them look like people from Niger. When they heard his gun shot while chasing an antelope, they responded with over 100 gunshots; the sound of guns he has never heard before”, the forum said.
It could be recalled that herdsmen and their alleged sponsors had in recent time vowed to take over Benue valley by attacking it from six fronts namely, Kwande, Guma, Konshisha, Vande-Ikyaa and Gwer respectively.
“We suspect a grand plot to destabilize the Benue Valley taking cognizance of the claim by Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) at a recent press conference in Abuja that they were the first settlers in the Valley and that it belongs to them.
“We are not sure if they are fleeing members of the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists group who want to open a new camp in the region”, the forum said.
BJFN called on the Federal Government to collaborate with Benue State Government to ensure that the lives and property of people are secured.
