Boundary dispute: Benue Govt to address Ukpute-Bonta conflict …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>>
Benue State government has pledged to address the concerns of Igede youth and other groups who have threatened to organize a protest over the alleged ongoing unprovoked attacks by Bonta Militia on Ukpute.
The government admonished the restive youths to eschew violence and promised them that their demands would be addressed without delay.
This was stated on Monday in Makurdi by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth Mobilisation and Empowerment, Hon. Moses Mkeenena
The government acknowledged the concerns of the groups and stressed the need for both Ukpute and Bonta communities to embrace Governor Hyacinth Alia administration’s peace moves, especially in the face of external attacks by Fulani herdsmen on the state.
It noted that the government was not silent on the Ukpute-Bonta renewed hostilities despite its efforts at brokering peace and was working towards a peaceful resolution.
Earlier in the meeting held at the instance of the state government, the Igede groups, led by Comr Andyson Iji Egbodo, National President of Igede Youth Council, demanded immediate redemarcation of the disputed boundary between Bonta and Ukpute or the declaration of the disputed area as a buffer zone to halt the renewed killings of Ukpute people by Bonta militias.
The groups handed a seven-page-document titled ‘Protest Address to His Excellency, Rev Fr. Hyacinth Alia, the Executive Governor, Benue State, over the Incessant Attacks on Ukpute and Other Igede Communities by Bonta (Tiv) Militias, Presented at Makurdi This 12th Day of August 2024,’ to the government.
The Igede delegation expressed concerns that the government’s handling of the crisis was unfair and had not adequately addressed the plight of the Ukpute people, the manner in which it mitigated the Ukum recent crisis.
The Igede in the meeting, attended by over 14 delegates representing various groups and associations, rejected a transport fare offered them by the government and declined to hold a joint meeting with Bonta delegates.
Comrade Egbodo commended the governor’s efforts in fighting external attacks and previous attempts at demarcating the boundary between Bonta and Ukpute, but urged him to intensify his efforts to restore peace to the area immediately.
He warned that “nothing would stop his group from the planned protest and world press conference, to bring the plight of Ukpute people to global attention for solution.”
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