Governor Hyacinth Alia has identified time constraints as one of the reasons why the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, was unable to address some stakeholders, including traditional rulers, during his visit to Benue State.
He explained that his closed-door meeting with the Chief of Army Staff was to hear and brief stakeholders, noting that the CAS went to the field to see things for himself.
According to the governor, the CAS promised hope for Benue State by intensifying some support for the safety of the people, and commended him for coming to commiserate with the Government and people of the state over the recent attacks in Gwer West and Apa Local Government areas.
The governor, therefore, called on Benue people to play their role in complementing efforts with the federal government towards ensuring that Benue does not experience further attacks on its communities.
He expressed his condolences to the two local Government councils under attack, which claimed many lives and thanked the traditional rulers for responding to his invitation at a very short time.
It was gathered that after the closed-door meeting, the Chief of Army Staff proceeded to Naka in Gwer West and Apa communities for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.
Armed herdsmen on Sunday invaded and attacked some communities in Gwer West and Apa, during which several inhabitants were gruesomely murdered while others sustained injuries, with motorcycles, food stuff and shops being looted.
The casualty figures are yet to be ascertained; however, in Gwer West, community leaders have listed over twenty deaths, while mass burial at Apa community, about thirty-six bodies were allegedly buried.
Police Public Relations Officer, Benue State Command, DCP Udeme Edet, could not give the exact figures, saying the Commissioner of Police has deployed the Tactical Squad to the trouble areas to identify routes invaders used to cross over to Benue for blockage.
