Suspected herders kill 10 in Benue IDPs camps

Gunmen suspected to be herders have killed 10 people at Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Gbajimba camps in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

The Camp Commandant, Felix Aponi Banke, made the disclosure on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, when the Acting Executive Secretary of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Sir James Iorpuu, led International Humanitarian Organizations on a fact-finding visit to IDP camps in the state. 

Banke said that the invaders had killed nine people living in Camp 2 while the latest incident, which brought the number of deaths to 10, occurred at Gbajimba Camp 1, adding that the victim had yet to be buried.

The camp commander told the humanitarian team that the camp management would always meet with the district head and other host community leaders to provide a parcel of land for them to bury the dead.

He said the major challenge in the camp is diarrhoea due to the lack of potable water.

The IDPs lamented that they could hardly sleep at night for fear of attacks.

Earlier, the SEMA boss, Iorpuu, explained that the Governor Hyacinth Alia-led administration was working with the Federal Government and the international community to ensure the safe and quick return of the IDPs to their ancestral homes.