Angry villagers on Saturday blocked the busy Makurdi–Lafia–Abuja highway with the corpses of three persons allegedly murdered in their farms by suspected armed herdsmen at Abagena and Atsom, on the outskirts of Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State.
The violent attack occurred around 8:30am, less than 24 hours after two other villagers were killed in a similar assault at Tse Adaa community in neighbouring Guma LGA. Several farmers were also reported missing, with locals fearing they had been abducted.
Eyewitnesses said panic broke out when the herders invaded farmlands close to the highway. “They killed three of our people and took others hostage. We recovered some corpses, but many are still missing,” one protester, Ushahemba Tersoo, told reporters. He added that fear of further ambushes prevented villagers from entering deeper into the bush to search for more bodies.
By mid-morning, hundreds of protesters stormed the Makurdi–Daudu axis of the highway, using the corpses to barricade the road. The demonstration paralysed traffic flow between Abuja and Makurdi as the aggrieved locals demanded Governor Hyacinth Alia’s immediate intervention. “The only way we can make government listen is to show them what we are going through,” another villager said.
Security personnel were later deployed to disperse the crowd and ensure the situation did not escalate. Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, could not be reached for comment at press time.
The incident adds to a rising wave of insecurity in Benue, where clashes between farmers and armed herders have repeatedly left communities devastated and residents displaced.
