Benue women protest as suspected herdsmen kill farmers in Yelwata

Suspected herdsmen on Monday shot three persons dead while they were working on their farm in the Yelwata area of Benue State.

Three others sustained severe gunshot injuries and are currently in critical condition following the early morning attack.

News of the incident sparked a protest by women in the community, who accused soldiers of failing to respond on time, leaving the police and local youths to mobilise in repelling the attackers.

Matthew Mnyam, a former government official, confirmed the incident with Channels Television, saying attempts by him and other community leaders to persuade the protesting women to vacate the federal highway connecting Benue and Nasarawa states were rejected. 

The women, he noted, insisted that soldiers should leave their communities for allegedly refusing to protect them.

This morning, three persons were killed by Fulani herdsmen while three others were discovered with severe gunshot injuries from the attack, leaving them in critical condition as we speak. 

“This prompted a protest by women from the Yelwata community on the renewed killings. The commissioner of police is there at the moment trying to handle the matter, while I have sent a message to the Secretary of Guma Local Government Area (LGA) to reach out to the chairman to intervene in the matter,” he said.

When contacted, Guma LGA Chairman, Maurice Orwough, confirmed the incident and the protest, appealing to all persons of goodwill to work for peace.

In June, scores of residents in the Yelwata area were killed and over 3,000 persons displaced during an overnight attack by suspected herdsmen.

While the government put the death toll at 59, civil rights groups claimed about 200 people were killed.