Women block Benue highway to protest insecurity
Women in Agan community located in the North Bank area of Makurdi, the Benue State capital, blocked the Makurdi-Lafia highway early Friday morning in protest against growing insecurity and what they described as indiscriminate arrest by security operatives. The protesters alleged that they had continued to live in fear of attacks by armed invaders after […]
Women in Agan community located in the North Bank area of Makurdi, the Benue State capital, blocked the Makurdi-Lafia highway early Friday morning in protest against growing insecurity and what they described as indiscriminate arrest by security operatives.
The protesters alleged that they had continued to live in fear of attacks by armed invaders after last month’s attack on the community and surrounding environments.
A witness who spoke to our correspondent in Makurdi on condition of anonymity said the women in Agan abandoned their homes at night, choosing instead to patrol the major road with their children between 6pm and 6am in a desperate effort to stay safe.
“We haven’t slept in our houses for four weeks. We roam the roads at night with our children because we are afraid of being killed in our sleep,” one protester told our correspondent.
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It was learnt that their fear wasn’t only from potential armed invasion but the women are also worried over what they call a disturbing pattern of arrests by security forces.
“In just one day, 50 innocent people were arrested. They keep arresting able bodied men in the community every day while the real attackers are still out there,” a protester alleged.
They further claimed that joint security operations had been targeting civilians instead of going after the armed herders allegedly responsible for repeated attacks in the area.
Our correspondent reports that the demonstration caused traffic disruptions on the busy highway as the women chanted slogans and demanded urgent intervention from the state and federal governments.
Meanwhile, the Benue State police command has warned against unnecessary distraction in form of protest.
The police public relations officer in the state, DSP Udeme Edet, in a statement noted, “The Benue State police command is currently carrying out operations across the state to clamp down on criminals and ensure the safety of lives and property. These operations are gradually yielding results as evident in the arrest of suspects and destruction of criminal hideouts around the Apa, Guma, Gwer-West, Sankera axis and other areas.
“As part of support for operatives in the field, members of the public are requested to avail the police of useful information rather than distract the ongoing focused clearance operations with any form of protest. Assembling people for protests at this time is distracting the police from engaging criminals as logistic attention will shift to protection of protesters, thereby creating room for criminality to continue thriving. Also, such assembly could be hijacked by hoodlums to perpetuate mayhem.”