News
Benue communal crisis: Journalist losses aunt, raise the alarm over threat to life
Benue communal crisis: Journalist losses aunt, raise the alarm over threat to life
By: Michael Mike
Known as the Food Basket of the Nation, Benue is gradually losing that epic crest to be christened the epicentre of crisis.
In virtually all parts of the state hardly a week pass without the record of one damning crisis or the other that have left the state in a shadow of its old self.
If the crisis is not armed herdsmen induced, it is local bandits instigated or communal bloody fight that leaves in its wake sorrows, tears and blood.
It’s been all tales of woes for a people who usually pride themselves as the food power house of the country where several of the grains, citrus, yam, cassava, rice, tomatoes, pepper, ginger, melon and several other are farmed in commercial qualities and hauled to other parts of the country.
Unfortunately the state is fast losing that panache that makes it stand out among the committee of states in the country owing to the ceaseless attacks and killings.
There is no gainsaying that Benue is currently bleeding and not a few families are being set backwards as a result of the crisis.
Many have continued to lose their sources of livelihood, homes, properties and loved ones in the crisis in parts of the state that have defiled all manner of intervenes to have them nipped in the bud.
From Agatu to Apa, Otukpo to Ogbadibo. From Gwer West to Makurdi and Guma, down to Gwer East LGAs; from Ukum all the way to Kwande LGAs it’s been same sad story of crisis.
The implication is that families have been rendered homeless and denied access to their farmlands. Thousands of these families have found solace in Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps where they are surviving on the goodwill of spirited individuals and organisations.
While majority of these displaced persons were victims of armed herdsmen incursions in several Benue communities many others have not known peace because of bloody crisis between neighbouring sister communities that ordinarily should be in peace with each other.
Of special mention is the Mbarvu and Mbasombo communities in Gwer East LGA of the state where all known measures have been taken by the state government to end the bloody conflict over a parcel of land the warring sister communities have resisted all the peace initiatives to end.
The then Governor of the state, Chief Samuel Ortom had also in May 2020 suspended two traditional rulers of both communities, Chief Peter Ikyum of Ishough and Chief Ager Kuhe of Mbasombo, in oder to compel the warring communities to sheath their sword but they remained adamant.
Even the threat by the present administration in June 2023 to take over the disputed land has not been able to convince the hitherto good neighbours to drop their arms and embrace peace.
Bothered by the level of attacks and killings in the crisis, women of both communities had also defied the heavy downpour, trooped out in their thousands and took over the busy Makurdi-Aliade road at Ikpayonge to protest the crisis, the destruction of properties including farmland and farm produce as well as the loss of innocent lives.
The development left road users and commuters stranded for several hours as long queues of cars and trucks coming from the South to the Northern part of the country and those from the Northern part of the country conveying goods and commuters to the South were left stranded.
The angry protesters who sang solidarity songs as they marched for hundreds of meters to register their anger over the needless bloodbath in their communities lamented the incessant killings and razing of houses in the two warring sister communities.
It took the intervention of the Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Mr. Aondona Dajoh and his colleagues who were all drenched in rain water, to calm the angry protesters.
The Woman Leader of Mbakough Kindred, Mrs. Veronica Orbunde who addressed the lawmakers said the peaceful demonstration was to draw government’s attention to the use of militia by the fueding parties, who rape innocent women in their farms and also kidnap and kill some of their husbands for no justifiable reasons.
She said, “we are tired of this crisis and we are pleading with the sister communities to end this senseless killings and destruction of properties in our communities.”
Addressing the huge crowd after inspecting the destruction at the Ikpayongo market in one of the attacks, the Speaker who expressed worry at the development appealed to the warring communities to embrace peace and stop the incessant killings and destruction of properties, assuring that the government would deploy more security personnel to the area to protect the lives and properties of the people.
Among the women who lost loved ones, property and farmland as well as farm produce in the crisis is Victoria Ojeme, a journalist of repute who is currently facing grave danger after losing an aunt in the crisis.
Mrs Ojeme who has unfortunately become a target for attack by the rampaging militia prosecuting the bloody crisis hails from Mbarvu, one of the communities at the centre of the crisis.
Nararting her ordeal, Ojeme said “I hail from Gwer East LGA of Benue state, Mbarvu community specifically. I am the third daughter of Pa Atule Humbe and my late mother’s name is Mama Bridget Humbe.
“I have been in shock for the past three years and has also stayed away from my community for several years after receiving so many threats from the neighbouring community that has been at loggerheads with my community.
“They have threatened all the youths for coming back home and for those who thought the threat was just a mere threat, never came back alive.
“So many houses have been razed down, the elderly that could not flee were slughtered by the invading community,
“In one of the attacks they killed my Aunt the only surviving woman in my father’s house. Today my life is also in danger. They feel that some of us are crying out about the spate of attacks and killings in the senseless crisis and I have become a target.
“I appeal to the government to take decisive steps to end the crisis as the loss of innocent lives and destruction of properties is already taking its toll on the farming populace who have all deserted their ancestral homes and farmland and have become Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in their own state.”
Benue communal crisis: Journalist losses aunt, raise the alarm over threat to life
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
By: Michael Mike
A former coordinator of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, Earl Osaro Onaiwu, has called on the political class across party lines to support ongoing security efforts of the federal government.
Onaiwu in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday noted that insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation and was religious neutral, therefore, the need for politicians to eschew partisan slant on security matters.
He cautioned that failure by the political elite to support the fight against insecurity leading to several ungoverned spaces could disrupt elections, stressing that except there is a country, then elections are guaranteed.
The former NGF coordinator particularly commended the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his coordination and strategic efforts in streamlining security policies and engagements in tackling insecurity.
According to him, the recent delivery of military hardware by the United States Government to Nigeria is a demonstration that the NSA was working and his recent foray to the U.S. is yielding the desired results.
“The season requires patriots and this means that irrespective of party affiliations, every politician worth his name needs to support ongoing security efforts as coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
“Insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation, it is religious blind and those not respect societal status. Therefore, Nigerians, especially our political class, should lend their support, proffer solutions and galvanise the people to back the government’s security initiatives.
“Only on Tuesday, the federal government received critical military hardware from the United States Government. This is cheering and it shows that the NSA’s recent visit to the United States and the subsequent hosting of delegations in the country is bearing the desired results.
“Also, renewed military and police onslaughts against terrorists and bandits show that the federal government is taking the fight to those who are intent on denying us our peace and well-being.
“The least we can do as citizens is to support the government, provide real time intelligence from our communities and do not engage in fake news on social media against government’s efforts,” Onaiwu stated.
He further called on governors to match the energy of the federal government by supporting the NSA to address the various security challenges in their states as well as continued logistics and equipment to the military and police.
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
By: Michael Mike
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, is facing possible committal to prison following contempt proceedings initiated over an alleged failure to comply with a Federal High Court order relating to the abduction and disappearance of Mr. John Chukwuemeka Anozie.
The action was instituted by legal counsel to Mr. Anozie’s wife, Mr. Vincent Adodo, who accused the Nigeria Police Force under the leadership of the IGP of willfully disobeying a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 24, 2025.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/865/2025 between Mrs. Nnenna Anozie v. Inspector General of Police, Justice Binta Nyako ordered the IGP to produce for prosecution operatives of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) alleged to have abducted Mr. Anozie from his Lekki residence in Lagos on June 15, 2017.
The court also directed the police authorities to forward the investigation report and legal advice on the matter to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation for appropriate action.
The court further awarded ₦2 million in damages against the IGP for failing to respond to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Mrs. Anozie seeking details of investigations into her husband’s disappearance.
The SARS operatives listed in the judgment include officers attached to the former SARS unit in Akwuzu, Anambra State, who were accused of involvement in the alleged abduction.
According to court documents, despite being served with the judgment in October 2025, the IGP has neither complied with the orders of the court nor paid the damages awarded. This development prompted Mrs. Anozie’s legal team to initiate contempt proceedings by serving the IGP with Form 48 (Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Court Order) and Form 49 (Notice of Committal to Correctional Centre).
The applicant is now seeking an order of court committing the IGP to Kuje Correctional Centre until he complies fully with the judgment.
The motion for contempt has been scheduled for hearing on February 9, 2025, before the Federal High Court, Abuja.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Police Force has not issued an official response to the contempt proceedings.
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
Urges African entrepreneurs to close ranks to fully harness continent’s huge potentials
By: Our Reporter
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has lauded the transformative impact of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on the global entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem that has raised over $1.5 billion dollars and created over 30,000 direct jobs in 20 years.
He, however, urged African entrepreneurs to close ranks in order to fully harness the continent’s huge potentials, leveraging MIT’s resource mobilization network and job creation opportunities.
The Vice President made the remarks on Wednesday when he received a delegation from Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025-2026 led by MIT’s Executive Director for the Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, Dina Sherif, on a courtesy visit at the presidential villa.
Senator Shettima called for unity of purpose among African professionals and entrepreneurs, saying “Africa is the new frontier and future belongs to the continent but its people must unite to transform potentials into tangible results that impact lives and livelihoods.
“Africa is blessed with enormous human and material resources but its people must fuse into one to benefit from the tremendous opportunities that abound across the continent,” he added.
He disclosed that Nigeria President Bola Tinubu is daring to leverage available opportunities to transform the entire economy, noting that “President Tinubu is not afraid of taking bold decisions that will reposition Nigeria’s economy and better the lives of the livelihoods of the people.”
Earlier in her remarks, the leader of the delegation, Sherif, said the delegation was at the Presidential Villa to brief the Vice President on the activities of MIT’s Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, assuring that the Centre is dedicated to “fueling the engine of entrepreneurship across the world”.
She noted that the team was in Nigeria in view of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship programme, which, according to her, has helped to entrench the spirit of entrepreneurship across the continent.
Sherif underscored the significance of collaboration among African startups, noting that Nigeria is a leading country, as evidenced in the progress recorded by startups across the continent.
She further assured of improved support for African-based startups from the centre through its various initiatives.
Also present at the meeting with the Vice President were the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, and some fellows of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025 – 2026 Session across Africa.
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
Roger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
FAILED COUP IN BURKINA FASO: HOW TRAORÉ NARROWLY ESCAPED ASSASSINATION PLOT AMID FOREIGN INTERFERENCE CLAIMS
-
News2 years agoRoger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
Opinions4 years ago
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
News9 months agoFAILED COUP IN BURKINA FASO: HOW TRAORÉ NARROWLY ESCAPED ASSASSINATION PLOT AMID FOREIGN INTERFERENCE CLAIMS
-
Opinions4 years agoPOLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News2 years agoEYN: Rev. Billi, Distortion of History, and The Living Tamarind Tree
-
ACADEMICS2 years agoA History of Biu” (2015) and The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1)
-
Columns2 years agoArmy University Biu: There is certain interest, but certainly not from Borno.
-
Opinions2 years agoTinubu,Shettima: The epidemic of economic, insecurity in Nigeria
