Benue State is on the boil again as villagers in Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area (LGA) on Monday barricaded the expressway with corpses of their relatives killed overnight to register their anger over alleged incessant killings.
Sources said that the renewed attack triggered a protest by local women, who took to the streets demanding that soldiers stationed in the area be withdrawn to their barracks.
Yelwata has become an epicentre of terror attacks. For example, gunmen, suspected to be herders, had on the night of Friday June 13 and the morning of Saturday June 14 attacked the Yelwata community in the Guma LGA of the food-producing State, leaving many dead and thousands of others displaced.
On Monday, the aggrieved residents, who blocked the major highway, calling for immediate transportation to Makurdi, insisting they no longer feel safe in the community.
Road users have been stranded as the villagers blocked the roads, protesting the killing of their people in the morning by unnamed persons.
The remains of the killed were laid on the road, halting both human and vehicular movements.
An eyewitness said: “Yes, road users are stranded and the villages have blocked the roads, protesting the killing of their people this morning by unnamed persons.
“They brought the remains of the people and kept them on the road and no one is passing and military helicopters are hovering all over and solders and police are all over.
“And the protesters are saying that the soldiers must vacate their area before they would open the road for not helping them deal with the killers.
“They are also demanding that the State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, must come and address them. Really, we have an unfortunate situation at hand.”
