Benue Govt Says It Arrested ‘Heavily Armed Herdsmen’ Moving Into State

The Benue State Government has raised alarm over the influx of armed herdsmen into the state through the Nasarawa/Benue border.

In a statement by the State’s Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu, the government said the herdsmen were fully armed with AK 47 rifles but were intercepted on arrival at its border.

“While we are still investigating the declaration made by Nasarawa State Governor of the presence of Boko Haram at Benue/Nasarawa border when we noticed massive deployment of herdsmen on the brink of river Benue on the bank of Nasarawa State bank.

“We also observed that a good number of these people are heavily armed, many of them with AK 47 riffle as if this was not enough, we have been able to apprehend a good number of them in a village called Kasima in Guma local government,” he said.

Abounu also disclosed that there has been a massive deployment of cows into the state recently, adding that about 376 cows were impounded between January 23 and 26 at Kasima village in Guma Local Government Area of the state.

“On January 23, 156 cows belonging to these herdsmen were apprehended and on the 26th, another 220 cows were apprehended from the same vicinity,” Abounu said.

The state had implemented the ‘Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition, Ranches establishment Law’ on May 2017, which however was greeted with opposition from the Fulani group, Miyetti Allah.

But the state government said implementation of the law was imperative following the number of attacks on communities by suspected herdsmen.