Apparently irked by the incessant attacks on agrarian communities in Benue State by suspected Fulani herdsmen, thousands of youth in the state yesterday took to the street to protest what they have termed endless massacre of Benue people by some blood thirsty herdsmen in the state.Report says Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria, YOWICA, and some students took to the streets of Makurdi to express their grievance over the killings.The peaceful demonstration, DailyPost gathered began at the Wurukum roundabout while the protesters carried placards and chanted songs of sorrow because of the many lives that had been lost. Some of the placards read, “Fulanis out of Benue, this is our home”, “Gov. Suswam, our lives are more important than cow meat” and “YOWICAN says government, help us remove Fulanis” among others.The state president of YOWICAN, Daniel Peverga Dam-Ayali told journalists that, “the incessant attacks by the Fulani herdsmen have become unnecessary and it is obvious that all effort to end the mayhem seems abortive. We want urgent and total removal of these Fulanis out of our peace loving state.”It was observed that the irate youth marched on all major roads and streets of the state capital and later proceeded to Government House, Makurdi where they demanded that Governor Gabriel Suswam should address them.The protest disrupted traffic on major roads and there was commotion before the chief of staff to the governor, Prof. Saint Gbilekaa, arrived to address the youth.Gbilekaa told the protesters that governor Suswam was on vacation and appealed to them to calm down, adding that a committee had been inaugurated to look into the immediate and remote causes of the attacks and offer a lasting solution.
By Ameh Comrade Godwin
