By Tor Vande-Acka
Establishing military camps in Benue State offers a potential solution to the worsening insecurity exacerbating the ongoing food crisis. The aim of increasing military presence is to curb farmer-herder clashes, banditry, and other violence that disrupt agricultural activities and hinder food production and distribution. By providing a safer environment, the military camps could enable farmers to return to their land, cultivate crops, and contribute to alleviating the food crisis. TOR VANDE-ACKA writes
The air in Benue State is heavy, laden with grief and fear. Benue, once known as the ‘Food Bas-ket of the Nation,’ has become a landscape scarred by violence, with fields lying fallow and people displaced by unrelenting attacks blamed on Fulani herders. Despite promises, presidential visits, and increased military presence, the killings continue, leaving devastation and despair in their wake. The situation requires more than just a reaction; it ne-cessitates immediate and decisive mili-tary action to restore order and prevent further bloodshed.
The idyllic image of Benue’s fertile plains has been replaced by a harsh real-ity. Speaking from his makeshift shelter in a bustling Internally Displaced Per-sons (IDP) camp near Makurdi, farmer Tony Akaa describes his ordeal: “They came in the night, shooting and burn-ing. We fled with nothing, abandoning our homes, farms, and lives.” Akaa’s story is not unique. Thousands of peo-ple have been forced to abandon their villages, seeking refuge in overcrowded and unsanitary camps with dwindling resources.
“Life here is unbearable,” laments Mama Theresa, a senior citizen forced to flee her village with her grandchildren. “We lack food, water, and medicine. Our children are ill, and we live in constant fear that the attackers will come even here.”
The attacks have not only killed and displaced people, but they have also crip-pled the agricultural sector, threatening food security not only in Benue, but throughout the country.
According to a public affairs analyst in Benue State, the suspension of the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, also known as the Anti-Open Grazing Law, has emboldened armed herders to car-ry out attacks on Benue communities, as well as increased killings in the state.
As a result, some prominent figures have stated that, given the deteriorating state of insecurity across the state’s com-munities, there is an urgent need for se-curity personnel stationed in the state, particularly the military, to act quickly to put an end to the killings.
Daniel Ihomun, spokesperson for the Agada-led faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, suggested that one way forward would be to estab-lish Military Super Camps in the state’s three senatorial districts, arming person-nel to be aware of their responsibilities, and enforcing the Anti-Open Grazing Law, which would help to alleviate inse-curity in Benue.
He also urged Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration to mobilise and equip the military, security agencies, and community volunteers to conduct secu-rity checks in Benue communities as a solution to the attacks, adding that the government should not forget to convene a Security Summit with all stakeholders, including politicians, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society groups, se-curity experts, and youth, in attendance.
However, the Public Affairs Analyst, who did not want his name published among others, stated that inadequate intelligence gathering and weak in-ter-agency collaboration were two ma-jor gaps undermining the state’s security efforts.
However, most of them agreed that one of the most effective ways to put an end to the killings in the state would be to implement and enforce the Anti-Open Grazing Law, arguing that the Law’s suspension had exacerbated killings in Benue.
Most of them believe that relaxing the law, selective enforcement, or com-plete neglect has only emboldened the herders, who have gone on a killing spree and publicly declared their intention to attack communities.
Meanwhile, Dr. Aondongu Saaku, the immediate past Chairman of the Asso-ciation of Farmers in Nigeria (AFAN), lamented that hunger had taken over the land because farmers were no longer on their farms, and that most of them no longer had yam seedlings to plant, claim-ing that their seedlings had been fed to herdsmen’s cattle.
Efforts to get Sir Kula Tersoo, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the State Gov-ernor, Rev. Fr Hyacinth Alia, and the governor’s Director General (DG) on Homeland Security, General Jacob Gbamwuan, to speak with Saturday IN-DEPENDENT about what the governor was doing to prevent further attacks on Benue communities were unsuccessful.
Although the CPS did not answer his calls or respond to messages sent to him, General Gbamwuan violated the agree-ment to provide our Correspondent with the information needed to complete the report.
Also, the Force Commander, Opera-tion Whirl Stroke (OPWS), could not be reached for comment at the time of com-piling this report, even though the Com-mand’s spokesman, Lt. Zubair Ahmad, told Saturday INDEPENDENT that he had been directed to provide us with in-formation on what the OPWS was doing to address the issue of incessant attacks on Benue communities.
However, in an interview with the Saturday INDEPENDENT, Dr. Andi Saaku, the former AFAN chairman in the state, stated that hunger was wide-spread in Benue due to farmers’ inability to access their farms, even as the cost of food items has reached an all-time high.
Saaku stated, “There is hunger all over Benue State because farmers are no longer going to the farms due to insecu-rity. They are killed when they go to the farm, so the majority of them are afraid and remain at home. That is why, when they (herders) arrived in Yelwata, they encountered a large number of people because farmers from the villages had fled to Yelwata town, believing that the presence of security personnel would keep them safe, but it turned out that it was not safe for them, and the entire town was burned down.
“And food is becoming scarce because the number of people fleeing the villages for their lives to the cities is large, and they are all now in town looking for food to eat. This is what has caused a lot of hunger because farmers have fled to ur-ban areas, believing it would be better for their lives.
“What has not helped matters is that most farmers used to keep their yam seedlings on their farms, and the herders would go there and open whatever was used to cover them (the seedlings) and let the cattle eat. So the cattle consume everything, and the farmers now run from their homes to the towns, which is why there is now more population in towns than in villages.
“But the other thing is that the cost of food items has skyrocketed as the popu-lation has grown,” he explained.
However, the Public Affairs Analyst, who condemned the ongoing killings, lamented that no suspect had been arrested or prosecuted over the years, claiming that the culture of impunity had fuelled the violence.
As a result, while criticising the fail-ure of both federal and state authorities to act, he urged the federal government and security agencies to take immediate and decisive action to halt the wave of vi-olent attacks and killings in Benue State and other parts of Nigeria.
He said, “There is no strategic direc-tion, no shared intelligence. Without these critical components, security per-sonnel must react rather than prevent attacks.
“The suspension of the Open Graz-ing Prohibition and Ranches Establish-ment Law by Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration has created a vacuum, encouraging armed herders to attack vulnerable communities.
“Poor coordination among security agencies, insufficient intelligence gather-ing, and weak inter-agency collaboration are major gaps undermining efforts to secure the state.”
“For years, lives have been lost with-out justice. If no one is held accountable, the violence will continue,” he stated.
However, Daniel Ihomun, the APC spokesman, stated that the way forward and the ultimate solution would be to establish Military Super Camps in the state’s three senatorial districts, which would be well-armed to respond quick-ly to security breaches and enforce the Anti-Open Grazing Law.
Speaking to the Saturday INDEPEN-DENT, Ihomun stated, “The Nigerian Armed Forces must establish Super Military Camps in the border areas of Guma, Agatu, and Ukum Local Govern-ment Areas (Zones A, B, and C). These must be adequately equipped to respond quickly to any breach of security.
“The Alia administration must mo-bilise and equip the military, security agencies, and community volunteers to conduct security checks in our commu-nities to protect our citizens from attacks.
“Also, the Alia administration must accept responsibility for enforcing the existing Anti-Open Grazing Law. Selec-tive enforcement or total neglect only encourages attackers.
“A Security Summit involving all stakeholders—politicians, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society groups, security experts, and youth— must be held. This is required to achieve consensus, exchange ideas, and galvan-ise collective action against the crisis.
“Our displaced brothers and sisters in camps should not be forgotten. The gov-ernment must develop a clear roadmap for the safe and dignified return of IDPs to their ancestral homes, supported by adequate security guarantees,” he stated.
The analyst stated that the alleged suspension of the Anti-Open Grazing Law by the Governor Hyacinth Alia administration has created a vacuum, encouraging armed herders to attack vulnerable communities.
He added, “The anti-grazing law had served as a deterrent, but its suspension has reversed the gains we had made. The lack of political will, particularly in en-forcing existing laws, has emboldened perpetrators,” he explained.
Ihomun, for his part, stated that “what is happening in Benue State is nothing short of a systematic genocide, a calculated campaign by armed Fulani herdsmen to displace our people and seize control of our ancestral lands. The goal is clear: to expel the indigenous Benue people using fear, violence, and terror.
“Unfortunately, the Benue State Gov-ernment has failed in its constitutional duty to protect the lives and property of its citizens. Initially, the government dis-missed the attacks as fake news.
“Then, in a shocking twist, it blamed Benue National Assembly members, branding them as government enemies. Later, the blame shifted to religious lead-ers. This series of denials and misdirec-tion are not only unfortunate, but also dangerous,” he stated.
Ihomun, on the other hand, sees hope in the horizon, citing steps taken by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his visit to Benue in the aftermath of the Yelwata attack, such as ordering the ar-rest of perpetrators and forming a Peace Committee to devise modalities for re-solving lingering issues.
He stated, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stepped in with decisive leader-ship, issuing a matching order to secu-rity agencies to arrest the perpetrators and forming a Peace Committee. This is a promising development, and I believe peace can still be restored if bold and im-mediate steps are taken,” he said.