By Olugbenga Salami
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, has alleged that security agencies received intelligence of an impending attack in Benue South Senatorial District seven days before gunmen killed about 20 residents, including children.
Raising the matter under Orders 41 and 51 as a matter of urgent public importance during Wednesday’s plenary, Moro said the attacks were not farmer-herder clashes but “a coordinated effort to wipe out communities and ultimately seize their ancestral lands.”
He detailed the killings within 72 hours: the assault on Utukpitu community on Friday, the killing of two persons in Akpachi, Uboju District of Otukpo LGA on Sunday, and another attack on Ondo community in Uboju on Tuesday, July 14, during which two more people were killed.
According to Moro, the paramount ruler of the Idoma Kingdom got information about a planned attack on Otukonobi community and immediately contacted the Commissioner of Police.
“The CP said he had been unable to reach the governor despite repeated attempts. Seven days later, the community came under attack and lives were lost,” he said.
Quoting an Idoma proverb, Moro said: “If you hear the sound of the owl in the night and a child dies in the morning, you do not have to search too far to know where death has come from.”
“People wake up at 5 a.m. to the sound of gunshots, and before long, a sizeable number of innocent people have been killed,” he lamented.
Moro acknowledged that Governor Hyacinth Alia later visited Otukpo General Hospital and pledged to pay medical bills after residents rejected an earlier N5 million donation.
“The people said they were not interested in his money; they were interested in their protection,” he said.
He criticised the reactive approach to insecurity. “Governors should be the first responders. Instead, they stay in the comfort of Government House, condemn the attacks and make donations after people have died,” Moro said.
The Minority Leader also recalled the recent kidnapping of mourners conveying the remains of a retired Deputy Corps Marshal of the FRSC from Lokoja to Benue for burial.
He said he had earlier proposed that Senate leadership meet President Bola Tinubu directly because “some government aides might not be giving the President an accurate picture,” adding that “the situation has become intolerable and is no longer acceptable.”
Asked if the attacks were linked to the killing of a Miyetti Allah leader, Moro said no. “Many people have been killed in Benue South, but our people did not go to other places looking for Fulani people to kill,” he said.
He warned that continued government failure could force communities to defend themselves. “We are not lazy people. If, after some time, no action is taken by government to protect our people, I can assure you that we are capable of protecting our lives,” Moro said.
The lawmaker reiterated reservations about state police, citing funding gaps. He said Operation Vanguard personnel in Benue had not received their N15, 000 monthly stipends and lacked logistics. He also warned of possible political abuse of state police.
