A youth leader in Ukpute community of Oju Local Government Area (LGA)of Benue State,Mike Ube has raised the alarm over looming genocide in the state.
Ube claimed that there have renewed unprovoked attacks on Ukpute community by Bonta Tiv militias of Konshisha LGA that started over a week ago and there has not been any sign that the crisis will be over soon.
In a statement on Sunday, the Ukpute youth leader said that only urgent intervention can save the situation, adding that the attacks are aimed at preventing the long awaited reopening of the boundaries between the two communities of Bonta and Ukpute which the state government commenced a few weeks ago.
The statement read: “The lingering expansionist annexation of minority land in Benue State is now taking a more dangerous and genocidal dimension.
“The renewed unprovoked attacks on our community, Ukpute in Oju LGA by Bonta Tiv militias of Konshisha LGA started over a week ago and there has not been any sign that the crisis will be over soon.
“The attacks are simply aimed at preventing the long awaited reopening of the boundaries between the two communities of Bonta and Ukpute which the State Government commenced a few weeks ago.
“The crisis is now slipping out to genocidal proportion as mobilization for further attacks has been extended to the 14 LGAs of the Tiv speaking majority ethnic group in the State.
“Intelligence revealed that truck-load of fighters have been pulling out of different LGs in Tiv land towards Konshisha (Bonta) to unleash mayhem on us.
“We were shocked (on (15/7/24) when the Commissioner of Police in the State invited us to Tse Agbaragba, the Hdqrs of the aggressor LG for what he called peace meeting without first deploying his men to the crisis point to prevent further onslaught.
“Caught in the webs of apprehension we could not attend the meeting as we are yet to recover from the shock of the gruesome murder of 12 soldiers and an Officer of the Nigeria Army by the same Bonta people about 2 years ago during similar attacks on us.
“We are calling on all stakeholders within and outside Benue State to urgently come to our rescue before we are wiped out. The Ruanda experience should not be allowed in Nigeria. Please, save our lives.”
