People living along the Makurdi–Lafia Road blocked traffic on the federal highway Wednesday to protest the deaths of five people at the hands of suspected Fulani herdsmen.
Channels TV said that the victims were attacked while they were on their way to the farm on the outskirts of Makurdi, which is close to the border of Guma Local Government Area in Benue State.
The murders, which happened on Friday and early yesterday, led to a protest by villagers who stopped the federal highway with the bodies of three of the victims.
Two persons were killed near the village of Tse Adaa in the Guma Local Government Area on Friday, according to eyewitnesses. The other three were killed yesterday morning in the Makurdi Local Government Area’s Abagena and Atsom towns.
Asongo Terka said, “The killings made the protesters move the bodies to the road and demand that the government stop the attacks.”
Also, a traveler named John Ogi, who was stuck in the blockage, said that drivers were stuck for hours because the locals wouldn’t let them go until the state governor talked to them.
He went on to say that security forces were working to fix the problem and make it safe to travel through again.
SP Udeme Edet, the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, said that two farmers were killed after they were attacked on their way to the farm in a hamlet in Guma Local Government Area.
Pictures and amateur recordings that were shared on social media confirmed the protest along the Makurdi–Lafia Road, and people warned drivers to stay away from the area. Some of the people who were affected by the obstruction also posted live videos from the site.
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