A member of the Benue House of Assembly, Mr Terfa Kudi (APC, Makurdi North), has said that thousands of his constituents displaced by recent attacks on their communities were “stranded and starving”.
“The security situation in Benue keeps getting worse; a lot of my constituents have been killed. Those who escaped are starving,” Kudi told newsmen on Wednesday in Jos.
The lawmaker, while interacting with journalists on the sidelines of the two-day zonal public hearing on constitution review, said that 70 per cent of the constituents, who are predominantly farmers, had been sacked from their ancestral homes and could not go to the farms.
“There is no food where they are taking refuge in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps and houses of relatives in Makurdi town.
“If serious security measures are not taken to curtail the attacks, people running to Makurdi town to take refuge may not even be safe there.
“The assailants are almost moving into the capital city; security agents must act fast.
“Government is doing its part, but more efforts need to be deployed.
“As I speak to you, the attackers have sacked the entire four council wards that make up Makurdi North,” he said.
The lawmaker called on the federal and Benue governments to protect his constituents from the invaders.
He sympathised with families that had lost loved ones and valuables, and particularly regretted that all schools had been shut down owing to the violence.
“All schools have been closed down. Even the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi has been affected as its host communities have come under serious attacks in the last few days. The situation is scary,” he said. NAN)
