Amnesty International revealed that between January 2023 and February 2024 50 communities in Benue experienced attacks leading to 2,600 deaths, many of whom were women and children.
The amnesty international Programme Director, Mrs Barbara Magaji, disclosed this during photo exhibition and press conference on Wednesday in Makurdi.
Magaji further said that the state had 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) out of which 18 were affected by insecurity, stressing that they face continuous attacks by armed attackers.
"These attacks are significantly affecting food security and livelihood because the affected communities are farmers and displacement make them unable to carry out any farming activity.
"These displacements are having significant and adverse effects on the right to livelihoods and depriving thousands of children of the right to education and development.
"As of March 2023 when the last counting and documentation was done, the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and host communities accommodated a total of 489,245 IDPs," Magaji said.
She further quoted the state Ministry of Education and the Teaching Service Board, saying that the two institutions stated that at least 55 schools had been destroyed by armed bandits or closed due to insecurity leaving hundreds of children out of school.
She emphasized that the organisation recommended that the Nigerian authorities must end the attacks in Benue because they have a duty to protect lives, stressing that they must investigate the incidents impartially and ensure justice for the victims, survivors and their families.
"Nigerian authorities must ensure that suspected perpetrators of human rights abuses are brought to justice through fair trial.
"Nigerian authorities must investigate the security lapses that enabled gunmen to carry out attacks and get away with it.
"People who are displaced must be provided with adequate humanitarian support, standard of living and children's education must be continued," she said.
Meanwhile, in his goodwill message, the Commanding Officer 72 Special Forces Battalion, Lt Col. RB Kefas, who was represented by Lt Danjuma Abba, stated that criminality had been curtailed in all the crisis prone areas, promising that the efforts would be sustained.
Also, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Steve Yabanet, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr Okon Asuquo, said that the police was working round the clock to reduce criminality to the barest minimum in the state.
