The death toll in the ongoing gang war in Benue State has grown to 25, as three more persons were reportedly killed in the Ayati hamlet of Ukum Local Government Area.
At least 22 people have died since the unrest began over the weekend in the Ukum LGA towns of Chito and Tyo Akosu. A vicious battle between two criminal gangs known as the “Chain Gang” and the “Full Fire” organizations was the immediate cause of the carnage.
The violence that erupted over the weekend reportedly spread to the Ayati neighborhood on Sunday night, killing three more people who were suspected of belonging to the rival gang.
According to an unnamed source in the area, the fighting that began over the weekend in Chito and Tyo Akosu spread to the gathering in Ayati on Sunday evening, where three people were killed. The truth is that nobody can tell one of our youths apart from another anymore. We also have no way of knowing who among us is sympathetic to which of these groups. That’s why things are growing bloodier and people are being slaughtered like livestock.
After hearing about the massacre, Ezra Nyiyongo, who represents the Ukum State Constituency in the State House of Assembly, called on the state administration to step up its efforts to end the conflict.
“You are aware of the circumstances behind the selection and abduction of the current Commissioner for Information, Matthew Aboh. One of our wise elders was chosen and ultimately sacrificed. That’s why there have been repeat occurrences. You will hear that today 24 people were slain, other times 11, and it keeps on happening every other day,” he warned.
When pressed for more information, he told mismob, “We as a government need to scale up our strategy. I feel a special anguish over this, and I have faith that the government is giving it careful consideration. I’ve informed the Speaker of the House, and we’ll be bringing this up with the Governor as soon as possible. In my opinion, success is possible. The governor, I’m under the impression, made a commitment during our electioneering campaigns to do whatever it took to establish peace, including using the carrot method with the so-called “boys in the bush.”
He continued, “I am ashamed because if it were external aggressors attacking us, you could say there is a collapse of law and order, but here we have a case where brothers from the same mother and father are pointing weapons at one other. Just who is going to be reporting to whom, exactly? This is the situation I am facing. It’s a huge blow. That’s awful.
Mismob Media