{"id":122387,"date":"2025-09-22T03:14:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T02:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=122387"},"modified":"2025-09-22T03:14:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T02:14:22","slug":"highway-shut-as-benue-communities-protest-renewed-killings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/highway-shut-as-benue-communities-protest-renewed-killings\/","title":{"rendered":"Highway Shut as Benue Communities Protest Renewed Killings"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"m#msg-f:1843854949038064131\" class=\"mail-message expanded\">\n<div id=\"m#msg-f:1843854949038064131-header\" class=\"mail-message-header spacer\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div id=\"m#msg-f:1843854949038064131-content\" class=\"mail-message-content collapsible zoom-normal mail-show-images \">\n<div class=\"clear\">\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Angry villagers in Benue State on Saturday barricaded the busy Makurdi\u2013Lafia highway to protest fresh killings in their communities.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The protest followed the murder of at least five farmers in separate attacks between Friday night and early Saturday.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">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.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Eyewitnesses said the villagers placed the corpses of the slain farmers on the highway to draw government\u2019s attention to their plight. The demonstration, which lasted for several hours, left motorists and commuters stranded in a chaotic scene.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The protesters demanded urgent intervention from the state government and security agencies to stop further bloodshed.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe cannot continue to live in fear every day while our people are being killed,\u201d one of the protesters lamented.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Security operatives were later deployed to the scene to disperse the crowd and restore traffic flow.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">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.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">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.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">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 \u201cfood basket of the nation,\u201d the unending violence threatens both peace and productivity.<\/div>\n<div id=\"m_-4889542741443476261ymail_android_signature\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo Angry villagers in Benue State on Saturday barricaded the busy Makurdi\u2013Lafia highway to protest fresh killings in their communities. The protest followed the murder of at least&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Highway Shut as Benue Communities Protest Renewed Killings - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/highway-shut-as-benue-communities-protest-renewed-killings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Highway Shut as Benue Communities Protest Renewed Killings - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Oscar Okhifo Angry villagers in Benue State on Saturday barricaded the busy Makurdi\u2013Lafia highway to protest fresh killings in their communities. 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