Highway Shut as Benue Communities Protest Renewed Killings

Angry villagers in Benue State on Saturday barricaded the busy Makurdi–Lafia highway to protest fresh killings in their communities.

The protest followed the murder of at least five farmers in separate attacks between Friday night and early Saturday.

Two of the victims were reportedly killed in Tse Adaa, Guma Local Government Area, while three others were hacked to death in Abagena and Atsom, both on the outskirts of Makurdi, the state capital.

Eyewitnesses said the villagers placed the corpses of the slain farmers on the highway to draw government’s attention to their plight. The demonstration, which lasted for several hours, left motorists and commuters stranded in a chaotic scene.

The protesters demanded urgent intervention from the state government and security agencies to stop further bloodshed.

“We cannot continue to live in fear every day while our people are being killed,” one of the protesters lamented.

Security operatives were later deployed to the scene to disperse the crowd and restore traffic flow.

Confirming the attacks, spokesperson of the Benue State Police Command, Catherine Anene, said two persons were killed in Tse Adaa, Guma LGA, but added that she had not received official reports about the blockade of the highway with corpses.

The killings are the latest in a series of violent attacks on farming communities in Benue. For over a decade, such assaults have persisted, leaving trails of blood, repeated protests, and unanswered calls for decisive government action.

While many citizens accuse authorities of lacking the political will to end the bloodshed, the government insists it is doing its best. Yet for a state once proudly called the “food basket of the nation,” the unending violence threatens both peace and productivity.