A civil society organisation, the Sesor Empowerment Foundation, has lamented killings in Benue, Taraba, Plateau and other states across the federation, soliciting the urgent intervention of states and federal government to curb the menace.
Speaking Friday in Abuja, during the presentation of a research report and media interaction on the Search for Justice and Accountability in the Farmer/Herder Crises in the Benue Valley”, which it conducted with the Benue We Deserve Foundation (BenDef), in partnership with Global Rights, Programme Officer of Sesor, Ina Inga, said that the research project interrogated the exponential rise of violent and continued conflicts in Benue, Plateau and Taraba states in the last two decades, “which have resulted in the monumental loss of lives, livelihoods and property.”
“The attacks are not widely reported as we are meant to believe, with assault on women often unreported. Communities in the affected states lack security and are at the mercy of bandits and other undesirable elements. Our recommendation is that government should bring perpetrators and actors to justice. There should be compensation for victims. The victims, who have taken shelter in different IDPs camps across the states should be rehabilitated as they want to go back to their communities,” she said.
Speaking earlier, the Programme Manager of Global Rights, Mr Edosa Oviawe, said that, over the years, Global Rights has worked with organizations of like-minds to promote good governance and proffer solution to insecurity, saying the recent study by Sesor Empowerment Foundation has shown the killings have continued unabated and should be curbed by concerned authorities.
“In the attacks and killings, there are issues of gender based violence. Some women were sexually abused and left to bear the trauma, while others were not so lucky as they were killed after being sexually abused. Some persons with disabilities were also affected. I heard of a case of a blind woman who could not run like others and ended up being a victim too. We hope that government will look into the report and effect recommendations, especially as go into the elections,” he said.
On his part, the Director, the department of Vulnerable Groups, national Human Rights Commission, Dahiru Sajo Bobbo, said that the report will hopefully be looked into by concerned authorities, adding that the NHRC has carried out researches of such nature in the past.