The six counties in the “Middle Belt” state in Nigeria have suffered deadly attacks by Fulani militants since the elections. The affected counties are on the northern and southern borders of the state.
One of the most recent attacks, on 7 March, left at least 20 residents dead in the town of Tse Khor after some 40 machete-wielding attackers arrived on motorbikes and stabbed defenseless men, women, and children.
Women and children from Tse Khor and surrounding villages continue to arrive at Naka camps for internally displaced persons, 32 kilometers west of Makurdi.
Paul Hemba, security adviser to the governor of Benue, told CNA that the assassins probably avoided using rifles during this raid so as not to alert the army, which has a base about 11 kilometers south of Tse Khor.
Fr. Remigius Ihyula, the priest who administers the aid in Makurdi, reiterated that the attack on the Tse Jor community caught citizens and authorities off guard.
“It was the first time the community had seen such violence since the killings began in 2001, and the attackers arrived unannounced,” the priest told.
“The reason could not be other than terrorism and the desire to inflict pain and disperse the population to occupy deserted areas,” he said.
There are more than a million people in Benue struggling to survive in makeshift camps as terrorist raids have depopulated large areas and prevented hundreds of thousands of small farmers from accessing their four-acre farms, Fr Ihyula added.