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  • Benue SEMA Distributes Relief Interventions to Over 1million IDPs

    Benue SEMA Distributes Relief Interventions to Over 1million IDPs

    By Isaac Kertyo, Makurdi

    The State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Benue State has distributed food items as well as non food items to the Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) camps across the state to ameliorate their hardship.

    Briefing Journalists in Makurdi on Wednesday, the state capital, the Executive Secretary of SEMA in Benue State, Dr Emmanuel Shior who expressed worry over the long stay of the IDPs in camps, stressed that the state government alone can’t address the security challenge bedeviling the state.

    “The IDPs have been here with us for a very long time. Generally as a humanitarian agency of Government our responsibility is to continue to provide relief materials to them to cushion their hardship.”

    The SEMA boss continued: “As you know there is no Government that keeps IDPs for too long. Unfortunately, what has led them to be in camps is still there-is the challenge of insecurity, is the challenge of attacks on the farming rural communities leading to their displacement, that challenge has not been addressed”.

    Dr Shior contended that, Benue State Government alone can’t address the security challenge. He Implored the Federal Government to intervene to address the challenge of insecurity to secure the lives of the aforementioned farming communities and facilitate quick return of the victims to their homes.

    According to the Executive Secretary, one million five hundred and ninety seven Internally Displaced Persons’ are currently staying in various camps across the state.

    He lauded development partners such as UNDP, non governmental organizations, the Church of Christ on the Later Days, among other critical stakeholders for their various interventions.

    Items distributed include four thousand eight hundred bags of rice, three hundred cartons of indomie, two hundred 5 litres of palm oil, three hundred bags of salt among others.

  • Benue SEMA Distributes Relief Interventions to Over 1 Million IDPs

    Benue SEMA Distributes Relief Interventions to Over 1 Million IDPs

    The State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Benue State has distributed food items as well as non food items to the Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) camps across the state to ameliorate their hardship.

    Briefing Journalists in Makurdi on Wednesday, the state capital, the Executive Secretary of SEMA in Benue State, Dr Emmanuel Shior who expressed worry over the long stay of the IDPs in camps, stressed that the state government alone can’t address the security challenge bedeviling the state.

    “The IDPs have been here with us for a very long time. Generally as a humanitarian agency of Government our responsibility is to continue to provide relief materials to them to cushion their hardship.”

    The SEMA boss continued: “As you know there is no Government that keeps IDPs for too long. Unfortunately, what has led them to be in camps is still there-is the challenge of insecurity, is the challenge of attacks on the farming rural communities leading to their displacement, that challenge has not been addressed”. 

    Dr Shior contended that, Benue State Government alone can’t address the security challenge. He Implored the Federal Government to intervene to address the challenge of insecurity to secure the lives of the aforementioned farming communities and facilitate quick return of the victims to their homes.

    According to the Executive Secretary, one million five hundred and ninety seven Internally Displaced Persons’ are currently staying in various camps across the state. 

    He lauded development partners such as UNDP, non governmental organizations, the Church of Christ on the Later Days, among other critical stakeholders for their various interventions.

    Items distributed include four thousand eight hundred bags of rice, three hundred cartons of indomie, two hundred 5 litres of palm oil, three hundred bags of salt among others.

  • ActionAid Supports 350 Women Headed Household in Benue, worth N7.9M

    ActionAid Supports 350 Women Headed Household in Benue, worth N7.9M

    From Noah Ocheni, Lokoja

    ActionAid Nigeria within last week given assistance to 350 women headed households in six affected communities within the local government areas that have in the recent past, suffered from crisis. 

    In a statement signed by Lola Ayanda,  gave the names of the affected areas as Okokolo, Oshigbudu, Odugbeho, Adana, Aila, Olegomakwo communities in Agatu local government areas of Benue State.

    The support by ActionAid according to the statement is with cash for food and dignity items worth N7.9M, aimed at reducing the hardship caused by the incessant crisis.

    Each of the identified household According to a Statement received N14,000.00 as cash for food while women in the community received dignity kits (sanitary towels, wrapper, hygiene kits etc) worth N11,000.00.

    It would be recalled that communal crisis in communities in Agatu local government area left many women hopeless having lost their farmlands, a major source of income and husbands who are breadwinners.

    “The crisis in Agatu local government area impacted negatively on the lives and livelihood of community members, reason ActionAid began a weeklong emergency intervention to provide appropriate aid to affected families in the local government area.”

    “Towards reaching, the affected persons, ActionAid, a team of 14 youth volunteers, selected from the communities led the process and ensured that the most vulnerable households within the communities were identified as beneficiaries.”

    The intervention by ActionAid according to Lola is to assist improve the coping capacity and alleviate the sufferings of the household heads intensified by the crisis.

    “Towards achieving the intervention objectives, ActionAid Nigeria, worked with Justice Development Caritas Foundation (JDCF) in collaboration with Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to carry out the emergency humanitarian assistance targeted at the six (6) affected communities”.

    “ActionAid is a global organisation, dedicated to the fight against poverty. Its vision is a world, without poverty and injustice, in which every person enjoys his or her right to life with dignity.”

    Presently, ActionAid works in over 40 countries across the globe and has been working in Nigeria since 1999.

  • Peace Corps CG Retrieves Car Gift From Party Chair, as Benue APC Crisis Worsens

    Peace Corps CG Retrieves Car Gift From Party Chair, as Benue APC Crisis Worsens

    From Leo Nzwanke, Lafia

    Dickson Akoh, a party chieftain and Commandant General of the Nigeria Peace Corps, decided to retrieve the Jeep he had given to the state party chairman, Chief Abba Yaro, three years ago, as part of the party’s crisis in Benue state.

    The state chairman, according to reports, has returned the Toyota Sequoia Jeep that the Peace Corps chief gave him as a present three years ago after being asked by Akoh.

    Our source gathered that , the relationship between the state party chairman and the party chieftain was amicable until after the last APC Ward Congress, which irked Akor, whose candidates had lost in the state, notably in his Senatorial District of Benue South.

    On Thursday in Makurdi, Benue’s capital, the state party chairman handed up the SUV to the Nigerian police Area Commander.

    On the 18th of August 2021, Akor, through his solicitors, Sule Abakpa & Co., wrote to the Area Commander of the Nigeria Police Force for Makurdi Metropolis, demanding “police escort for the return of Professor Dickson Akoh’s Toyota Sequoia Jeep from Comrade Abba Yaro.”

    The Peace Corps CG stated that the car was not given to Comrade Yaro as a gift, but rather to allow the party chairman to move around at the time.

    The letter read in bits ; “We are Solicitors to Professor Dickson Akoh, of the Headquarters, Peace Corps of Nigeria, Abuja, (hereinafter referred to as Our Client) on whose behalf we make this application.

    “Hitherto, our client had availed Comrade Abba Yaro his Toyota Sequoia Jeep and its original particulars for use when the latter was not mobile.

    “Comrade Abba Yaro is now mobile and our client demands the immediate return of his vehicle and its original particulars. To avoid skirmishes, we humbly apply for Police Escort to accompany our Client and/or his agent to retrieve the vehicle from Comrade Abba Yaro.

    “Thank you in anticipation of your prompt intervention”.

    On behalf of Sule Abakpa & Co., two lawyers, Paul Okoliko and PM Okpo, signed Akoh’s letter.

    The state party chairman, however, returned the Jeep to the police on August 19, 2021.

    He also wrote a letter to the Area Commander of the police force.

    “Reference to the above complain letter by Professor Dickson Akoh dated 18th August, 2021, I Abba Yaro, have returned the purported Sequoia Jeep to the Area Commander in perfect condition for onward transfer to the Professor,” Yaro writes in his letter titled “Re: Request of Toyota Sequoia Jeep belonging to Professor Dickson Akoh.”

    While the APC is preparing for the conduct of its local government congresses, several state chapters of the party are still grappling with the problems that surrounded the party’s Ward Congresses.

  • NDLEA Arrest 43 Drug Dealers and Users In Ondo, Nasarawa, Benue

    NDLEA Arrest 43 Drug Dealers and Users In Ondo, Nasarawa, Benue

    Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested no fewer than 43 dealers and consumers of illicit substances in Nasarawa, Benue, and Ondo States.

    Following a series of raids tagged ‘offensive action’ in the states, the agency revealed that operatives recovered 137.55 kilograms of assorted drugs.

    In Nasarawa State, NDLEA operatives backed by a detachment of soldiers from 177 Battalion of the Nigerian Army, Keffi, raided notorious drug joints located in Kara Masaka, Ruwa Ruwa Uke, Abattoir at the border with FCT, Filing Bala, Masaka U-Turn, and others for two consecutive days – August 5 and 6.

    During the raids, at least 41 suspects were arrested and assorted drugs such as cocaine, cannabis sativa, cough syrup with codeine, Rohypnol, and tramadol with a total weight of 65.250kg were recovered from them.

    Cannabis plants planted by the drug dealers in the adjoining bushes were also destroyed while all the stalls in the drug markets were dismantled and set ablaze.

    Iornum Emmanuel was arrested at a checkpoint in Benue State.

    In the same vein, operatives of the Ondo State Command of the agency raided the Odopetu area in Akure South Local Government Area of the state capital in the early hours of Monday.

    Forty-four-year-old Folake Ademola was arrested, but her husband escaped arrest.

    Recovered from their home include 65.400kg of cannabis sativa; skunk – 500grams; loud – 16grams; and Colorado – 34grams, bringing the total of drugs seized from them to 65.950 kilograms.

    In Benue State, a 34-year-old Iornum Emmanuel was arrested at the NDLEA Aliade checkpoint on Sunday with different quantities of assorted illicit drugs, including tramadol – 500grams, diazepam – 1.5kg, and exol 5 – 7.9kg.

    In his reaction, Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended the commanders, officers, and men of the Nasarawa, Ondo, and Benue State commands for their commitment to the goal of ridding the country of the menace of drug abuse and trafficking.

    He charged them and their colleagues in other commands to continue the offensive until the last drug cartel in Nigeria is dismantled.

  • 14 die as Bandits attack Benue police Station

    14 die as Bandits attack Benue police Station

    Benue Police Command has confirmed 14 bandits have been killed in a gun duel following an attempted attack on a station in Katsina-Ala town, Benue state on Sunday morning.

    Police spokesperson Kate Anene, a DSP , who confirmed the incident, said on Saturday, some suspected bandits were arrested and detained at Katsina-Ala Divisional Police Station for investigations.

    But he said on Sunday morning, around 1am, some gunmen, numbering about 50, launched a blistering attack on the station in an attempt to free the suspects from custody.

    The police spokesperson stated operatives at the Division, who were already on alert, engaged the gunmen with 14 of them gunned down during the exchange of gunfire while others escaped with bullets wound.

    The police advised the good people of Katsina Ala to remain calm and avail police with useful information.

  • NBA Fumes as EFCC Operatives Brutalize its Benue Chairman

    NBA Fumes as EFCC Operatives Brutalize its Benue Chairman

    By Isaac Kertyo, Makurdi

    The Nigeria Barr Association, NBA, Makurdi branch, Benue State has condemned in its entirety the assault and molestation unleashed on its Chairman, Mr Justine Gbagir by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s zonal office, Makurdi.

    The association’s Vice Chairman, Mr Basil Hemba who made this condemnation while briefing Newsmen over the incident in Makurdi, described the action of the EFCC against the Chairman as unacceptable.

    Day Break learned that Mr Gbagir was manhandled by officials of the Commission when he visited the office to meditate in the case involving a colleague who is the Legal Adviser to the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Benue State, Mrs Avershima who was detained by the aforesaid officials.

    He decried continued attacks on legal Practitioners, pointing out that the injustice melted to Mr Gbagir by agents of the EFCC was a slap on the entire judiciary.

    Hemba noted that NBA Chairman was Brutalize in the presence of the Attorney general and Commissioner for Justice, Benue State, Mr Mike Gusa who was at the Commission’s zonal office over the same case.

    Meanwhile, Mr Gbagir is currently receiving treatment at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi.

  • Two Abducted Benue Varsity Students Regains Freedom

    Two Abducted Benue Varsity Students Regains Freedom

    The two students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi abducted by gunmen have secured their freedom.

    Their release comes four days after gunmen stormed the school after its convocation and kidnapped three students.

    Confirming the incident via a text message on Wednesday, Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Sewuese Anene, said the students were rescued unhurt.

    “The kidnapped students of the University of Makurdi have been released unhurt. Investigation into the case continues please,” he said.

    When asked if ransom was paid to facilitate their release, the police spokesman replied saying: “No ransom was paid please.”

    There were some reports that the kidnappers contacted one of the parents of the students and demanded N20 million ransom.

    Efforts to reach the institution’s Director of Information, Protocol and Public Relations, Rosemary Waku, proved abortive as her line didn’t reach.

    This comes barely a week after about 20 students were abducted from Greenfield University in Kaduna State.

    Three of the Greenfield University students were found dead on Friday.

    Speaking to journalists, in Markurdi, police spokesperson Anene Sewuese said the gunmen struck at about 10:20 pm and kidnapped three of the students studying close to a lecture theatre.

    “We have received that information, we are on it and I know that we are very close,” she said.

    “My advice is that the members of the public remain calm. We are doing our best to make sure that we get to the root of this and apprehend perpetrators of this crime.

  • Gunmen invades University of Agriculture in Benue, Abduct students

    Gunmen invades University of Agriculture in Benue, Abduct students

    An unconfirmed number of students from the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi have been abducted at gunpoint “by unknown persons”, the institution confirmed on Monday.

    “The University has reported the incident to the police and all relevant security agencies,”  a statement signed by the university’s Director of Information, Protocol and Public Relations Unit (IPPR), Mrs Rosemary Waku, said.

    “The University has not heard anything from the students or their captors since the unfortunate incidence took place.”

    The police has also confirmed the abduction.

    “The Commissioner of Police, Benue State Command has ordered a full-scale investigation into the case,” a statement from police spokesperson, Anene Sewuese, said.

    The Benue abduction comes barely a week after about 20 students were abducted from Greenfield University in Kaduna.

    Three of the Greenfield University students were found dead on Friday.

    Details later . . . 

  • Many Feared Dead In Benue Tanker Explosion

    Many Feared Dead In Benue Tanker Explosion

    Many have been feared dead following a tanker explosion in Oshigbudu, Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.

    According to an amateur video sent by an eyewitness on Sunday, many houses, shops and properties were also destroyed in the inferno.

    Agatu local government area is some four hours drive from Makurdi, the Benue State capital and help from this axis is unlikely as the fire is believed to have gone out of control.

    Many residents of the area called for help from relevant authorities to come to their rescue as the only fire station is in Otukpo Local Government Area, a one hour thirty minutes drive from the scene of the fire.

    When contacted, the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Emmanuel Shior confirmed the incident to Channels Television via a telephone conversation.

    While noting that he would brief Governor Samuel Ortom on the development, he said a statement will be issued shortly.

    “The fire inferno at Oshugbudu in Agatu local Government, my local government of origin today, 18-04-2021 which has claimed so many lives and destroyed properties yet to be quantified, is the Chief of all the calamities that have fallen us this year,” he said.

    “As I pray  God to comfort the good people of Agatu and most especially those directly involved, over the lost, I wish to call on Government at all levels and spirited individuals to come to our aids in order to drastically reduce the effect of the disaster on the people. Once again may God grant us the fortitude to bear the huge loss.”

    Details later….