The Executive Secretary of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), James Iorpuu, has revealed that 107 victims of the June 13 attack on Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area, are still hospitalised and receiving treatment for injuries sustained during the assault.
Iorpuu, who also serves as the Permanent Secretary of the Benue State Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, made this known in Makurdi during a joint press briefing with his counterparts from Nasarawa and Plateau states.
He condemned the continued attacks on rural communities across the state and described the Yelwata incident as a massacre, saying the level of carnage caused by the armed assailants was overwhelming.
“So far, 107 survivors of the Yelwata attack are still receiving treatment at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, and other medical facilities,” he said.
“The attack claimed over 200 lives. We pray such an incident never occurs again in any part of Benue State.”
Iorpuu explained that the visiting officials from Nasarawa and Plateau were in the state to express solidarity with the people of Benue and to explore ways of collaborating to halt the wave of armed violence in the North Central region.
“We are going to work together as a team to find solutions to the security challenges, especially concerning attackers who often pass through Nasarawa to launch assaults on Benue communities,” he added.
On his part, the Director General of the Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency, Mr Ben Akwash, said their visit was both to condole with the government and people of Benue and to initiate a partnership among the three states to end the violence.
He further mentioned the need for coordinated efforts to prepare for potential flood disasters in the region.
Similarly, the Executive Secretary of the Plateau State Emergency Management Agency, Mr Sunday Abdu, commiserated with the people of Benue and expressed solidarity.
“Benue is dear to our hearts. The aggression suffered by Benue is the same that is being experienced in Plateau and other parts of the North Central. We pray for God’s protection over our families, children and women,” he said.
He added that the Plateau delegation also sought to learn from Benue’s response strategies to humanitarian crises.
