Mrs Grace Zeku who hails from a village in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, North Central Nigeria, has been attacked by Fulani militants.
According to a local who spoke with the The Punch Nigeria, identified only as Terlumun, “the woman said her attackers told her to place her hand on a log of wood before cutting it off.” Terlumun added, “The woman ran into the village crying and told us that the herdsmen took the hand and ran away. There are machete wounds on her head too.” The attack took place on Monday, October 14th.
Gboogyo village is located in Guma Local Government Area, which is on the outside edge of Benue state, near Nasarawa State. Ever since Nov. 2017, when Benue State enacted its Anti-Open Grazing Bill, the interior of the state has become much more secure, seeing far less violence. This has not protected those on the northern borders of the state however. Neither Nasarawa or Taraba States, both of which border Benue, have enacted any legislation limiting the travel of migrant herders. This has meant that there is still violence in Northern Benue.
Though the reason for the attack is still unclear, it is yet another instance of violence going unchecked in Nigeria. These types of attacks are daily, and holding the perpetrators accountable is very rare. This may be due to the remote locations that these attacks take place, mixed with the very centralized running of all security forces, which significantly slows down their reaction time. Or still yet, it could just be outright negligence on the part of security outfits in both the state and federal level. It however clearly shows a lack of either care or competence on the Nigerian governments side. They must do a better job at protecting their citizens.
It will be recorded that the Tiv people of Benue state have lost lives, lands, farms and properties worth hundreds of millions of naira at the hands of these fulani militia and fulani herdsmen who had turned the state into a river of blood. From food basket of the nation to ‘Full Casket’ of the nation. These brutal and unjustifiable killings had grown progressively worse over the past few years. The Nigerian Army has done little to nothing to curb the situation. There are over 20 LGA’s in Benue and the Herdsmen have wasted lives in most of these Local Governments.
These killings had suddenly come to a halt, but with the recent attack on Mrs Grace Zeku, the indigenes of Benue state are on alert once more.