Jimin Geoffrey, ex-Senior Special Assistant on Media to the former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom on Saturday spoke on the deteriorating security situation in the state, particularly the recent unprovoked attack in Yelewata community, Guma 1 State constituency, Guma Local Government Area, where over 200 unsuspecting citizens were massacre by suspected herdsmen.
Geoffrey, who contested to represent the Guma 1 State constituency at State House of Assembly in the last election, told DAILY POST in this interview that some victims of the Yelewata massacre are still missing.
He also revealed that despite President Bola Tinubu’s recent meeting with stakeholders in Makurdi and the 14-day ultimatum issued by traditional rulers for the Fulani herdsmen to vacate the land, armed herders are still grazing their cattle openly across the state.
The Yelewata massacre happened in your own constituency, can you tell Nigerians how many people actually died?
We can’t tell you the actual figure of how many people died because even as we speak, many people are still missing across Yelewata.
The figure is definitely over 200. The people in Yelewata were persons displaced from different villages here in Guma Local Government. They were staying inside warehouses and stores. That’s why you could hear that about 20 people died inside one room.
They do go for their daily businesses in the daytime and retire to the warehouses and stores in the night to sleep. Nobody is living in the hinterlands again because of incessant attacks. To be sincere with you, even before the massacre, Yelwata was like an IDP camp already.
So a large number of people were trapped inside the warehouses and stores and they were burnt alongside with foodstuffs, including rice and other items. As we speak, there are many people we can’t account for. Several people are still missing.
The 200 we are talking about might be underestimated because people are missing and we can’t trace them. Some families lost more than 20 people.
How is the situation now?
There is a primary school in Yelwata where some military personnel were stationed even before the massacre. We still have those people stationed there. There is no deployment of any additional security operatives. There is no new thing there, just people visiting for condolences and all of that.
There are people saying that the security issues in Benue State have been politicized. What is your take on this?
There is nothing that will happen that a politician will not look for a narrative that would favour him tomorrow. If he says something, it is tailored towards what he wants to achieve tomorrow and if he is silent, he is avoiding what may possibly affect him tomorrow.
We have some politicians, who will always take advantage of every situation. Some are in the state while some are outside the state.
In the past, Tinubu said on several occasions that the bulk of security work stops at the president’s table. That’s what he said in 2014 when Goodluck Jonathan was still the president. Now that he is in charge, the bulk is on his table so he should act and stop these killings.
These herdsmen are still in the bushes there. If you go to the farm today, you will find them in their numbers. If me as an ordinary Nigerian knows that these people are there, how about those in government and the security operatives that have highly sophisticated equipment?
What is your assessment of Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration, especially on security?
The governor failed to tell the power at the center what is actually happening in the state. It is time for the governor to stop shielding anybody from being blamed or talked to in the face. As the Chief Security Officer of the state, he should be able to tell Nigerians the narrative of what is happening in Benue State without being afraid of anybody.
His problem is that he has not been able to come forward and say “this is what is happening”, maybe he is just trying to play safe. How can you be trying to play safe when your people are not safe?
So both at the state and federal levels, people are playing politics over the security issues of our dear state. I know they are politicians and must play politics but not with the terrorism issues facing us.
Who is the governor trying to please, politics is local, so if you must play politics, play it in a way that will please your people.
Do we still have herdsmen grazing openly in Benue?
They are still here in their numbers, even here in Guma Local Government where Yelwata is. Herdsmen are currently grazing their battle in many places in Guma. They are grazing their cattle even in communities where they have attacked and chased the residents away.
These people are there but politics will not allow those in the helm of affairs to act.
If you go to the villages around Yelwata, you will still find these people confidently grazing their cattle there with their AK-47.
They have taken over our villages. Some of them even sleep in our houses that they decided not to burn. They don’t burn all the houses, they reserve the ones they will use as shelters.
There is a farm I’m planning to go to. If you go there, you will see these herdsmen in their numbers. Recently, they even stabbed someone who refused to allow them to enter his farm. Despite the 14 day ultimatum by traditional rulers, these people are still here with us.
Some Benue people are complaining that they are not comfortable with the presence of some military personnel in their communities, what can you say in that?
So many attacks have happened in a place where military people were so close and people expected that since they are there to protect them, the military should face the attackers but on many occasions, this has not happened.
So, people have lost confidence in the military too. Everybody seems to be a suspect right now.