Benue State communities have petitioned authorities over an armed herder influx that is destroying farmlands and causing fear.
Residents of Tombo Ward in Benue State’s Logo Local Government Area are tense due to a large influx of cattle herders grazing in their communities. The herders are allegedly armed with sophisticated weapons, which they display while grazing on and destroying farmlands. Community leaders have petitioned local security and traditional authorities to intervene.
In a petition obtained by The Nation, the Gaambetiev Local Government Workers Forum detailed the crisis. It stated “there is rapidly increasing influx of migrant herders” and that “the herders are carrying out destruction of farm lands.” The petition warned the “presence and conduct of armed herders have raised serious fear of potential danger,” urging immediate security deployment and the lawful removal of unauthorized groups.