Benue Bleeds Again: Armed Herdsmen Slaughter 11 in Afia Community - Monarch Accuses Tinubu Govt of Silence

Barely a week after more than 50 lives were lost in coordinated attacks across Benue State, fresh violence erupted in the early hours of Tuesday as suspected armed herders descended on Afia community in Ukum Local Government Area, killing 11 people and injuring many others.

The carnage, which has sparked fresh waves of fear and displacement, has been described as part of a growing attempt to overrun indigenous communities and forcefully seize their lands.

Speaking at a security meeting in Makurdi Benue State, the Ter Ukum, His Royal Highness, Chief Iyorkyaa Kaave, did not mince words as he addressed the deteriorating security situation in his domain. According to the monarch, the attacks started as early as Thursday in neighbouring Logo and spread into Ukum by Good Friday.

"We are still counting the dead. Corpses are being recovered, and many of our people remain missing. What happened in Afia on Tuesday was a deliberate, brutal invasion,ÔÇØ Chief Kaave said.

According to him, the attackers stormed the community at dawn, shooting sporadically at innocent villagers. By the time the dust settled, 11 lifeless bodies lay on the ground, and dozens more had sustained gunshot wounds.

The monarch accused the assailants of being part of a grand design to wipe out native populations and settle on their ancestral lands, likening the current wave of attacks to a form of rural conquest masked as farmer-herder clashes.

"These are not the Fulani we once knew and lived with peacefully in the 1970s and '80s,ÔÇØ Kaave lamented. "Back then, they came with their families and cattle during the dry season. What we are witnessing now is a militia - armed with AK-47s, invading homes, killing people in their sleep, and occupying their lands.ÔÇØ

The Ter Ukum issued a strong message to President Bola Tinubu, urging the federal government to drop any plans of negotiating with what he described as "murderers."

"The president should hear us loud and clear: We do not want to settle with murderers. This is no longer a misunderstanding. It is a calculated agenda - kill, displace, and occupy. Nothing less,ÔÇØ he said.

Chief Kaave's statement reflects the growing frustration and despair among Benue residents who feel abandoned by the federal government amid the worsening security crisis. Communities across the state have been repeatedly targeted by suspected herdsmen, leaving trails of death, destroyed homes, and displaced families.

Despite repeated calls for intervention, the federal government has yet to unveil a comprehensive strategy to address the bloodshed that continues to plague the Middle Belt region.

As the death toll rises and the calls for justice grow louder, all eyes are now on President Tinubu and the nation's security agencies. Will they act - or continue to watch from a distance?