Benue State has been plagued by recurring violent attacks, kidnappings, and killings, often attributed to armed herdsmen, leaving residents in a state of fear and insecurity.
On Tuesday, the Benue State Government reported that 107 survivors of the Yelwata attack are still receiving medical care at the Benue State Teaching Hospital in Makurdi.
Permanent Secretary of the Benue Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and Executive Secretary of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. James Iorpuu, shared this during a press briefing in Makurdi, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The June 13 attack by suspected bandits in the Yelwata Community claimed over 100 lives.
Iorpuu described the incident as unprecedented, stating, “What happened at Yelwata had not happened anywhere in the world, and we pray it never happens again to any community.”
He noted that Benue has faced relentless bandit attacks since 2011 and expressed gratitude to officials from Nasarawa and Plateau states for their condolences.
Executive Secretary of Plateau SEMA, Mr. Sunday Abdu, and Director-General of Nasarawa SEMA, Mr. Ben Akwash, visited Benue to show solidarity.
Abdu remarked, “We came to express our condolences to Benue SEMA and the people of the state over the Yelwata attack,” assuring resilience despite such aggression.
He added that their visit also aimed to study Benue SEMA’s operations to enhance their own systems and urged prayers to end the ongoing attacks in North Central Nigeria.
Similarly, Akwash, while offering sympathies, emphasized the historical unity of Benue, Nasarawa, and Plateau, saying, “We are one entity before state creation.”
He also noted their intent to learn from Benue SEMA’s operations to improve their agency’s framework.
