A group, under the aegis of MINDA Strategic Contact Group (MSCG), has expressed worry over the sudden influx of Fulani herdsmen and their cattle to Benue State in the lead-up to the new year.

The group recalled the gruesome murder of 73 Benue indigenes by herdsmen exactly one year ago and several other killings including that of two Catholic priests and 17 parishioners in Mbalom.

Prof. Joe Tor Iorlapuu, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial aspirant in the state, spoke on behalf of the group at a world press conference in Makurdi yesterday.

He described the influx as a plot to breach the peace and instigate the postponement of the general elections in the state through the declaration of a state of emergency.

He said: “As we approach the eve of 2019, Benue is in a state of fear and soberness. The event of January 1, 2018 and several other ugly events that followed thereafter have remained unforgettable in the minds of our people, our government and the entire world. This press conference is necessitated by the philosophy that ‘to remember is to resist’.

“As we approach the eve of 2019, instances of similar patterns of killings have reportedly occurred in Guma, Makurdi, Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas of Benue State.

“Only one week ago, law enforcement officers were reported to have arrested one herdsman with 105 herds of cattle openly grazing in the heart of Makurdi, the Benue State capital, in flagrant violation of the Anti-Open Grazing Law of the State, 2017.”

•Excerpted from The Guardian report