In the wake of the pervasive insecurity in Benue, the Mzough u Tiv (MUT) has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare an emergency on security in the state.

The group made the call through its President-General, CP Iorbee Ihagh (rtd), in a chat with The Guardian yesterday in Makurdi. The apex socio-cultural organisation of the Tiv people noted that the raging killings, abductions and bandit attacks in Benue had confined a large proportion of the farming population in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.

Re-echoing his speech at the Tiv Day celebration in Gboko at the weekend, Ihagh said: “I want to state categorically that we do not want our land to be taken from us in whatever guise, neither do we want to cohabit with our enemies, particularly, the armed Fulani herdsmen that have been killing and maiming us on our own land and also raping our wives and daughters.

“Therefore, I want to remind the Federal Government that government exists primarily for the protection of lives and properties. Nations like America can go to war over the loss of one life, but here people are killed in hundreds and our government seems to care less. This is unacceptable.”

He added, “It has been stated that the government is likely to have a hand in any crisis that lasts for more than three days, and it is our firm belief that the government knows the perpetrators of these acts, so they should be arrested because no one is above the law.”

The Tiv group’s helmsman noted that food was fast becoming scarce because a large chunk of the active farming population had been displaced and left to languish in IDP camps for far too long.