Bandit-Terrorists destroyed 90 percent of Schools, Hospitals, Markets in Guma County
By Olikita Ekani
(Makurdi) Virtually all schools, hospitals and markets in burned-over Guma County, adjacent to Makurdi, capital of Benue State, have been destroyed by Fulani Terrorists, TruthNigeria has learned.
County Chairman Orwough Maurice raised this alarm on Wednesday while addressing reporters in Makurdi.
Guma County, headquartered in Gbajimba, 26 miles Northeast of Makurdi, is one of the counties most affected by the relentless Fulani-tribe terrorism in Benue since 2013.
The inhabitants chiefly belong to the Tiv ethnicity, (4th-largest ethnic group in Nigeria) and are 98 percent Christian, 90 percent Catholic.
The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Guma who have been staying in Daudu, Gbajimba IDPs Camps in Guma, Ichwa and Abagena Mega IDPs in Makurdi, have started returning home as a result of recent Peace agreements spearheaded by Bishop Isaac Bundepuun Dugu of the Catholic Diocese of Katsina-Ala and Melvin James Ejeh, chairman of Agatu County.
The Fulani, a group known across West Africa for cattle-herding and involvement in regional jihad wars, have been linked to thousands of massacres in Nigeria. According to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, the Fulani marauders have been responsible for more than 50,000 deaths in Nigeria during the last four years
Reverend Father Remigius Ihyula, Coordinator of the Foundation for Justice, Development and Peace, Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, in a recent exclusive Interview with TruthNigeria said 19 out of the 23 counties in Benue State have been under FEM’s occupation until recent Peace Agreements. Local governance areas (Counties) under extensive criminal occupation include Guma, Gwer-West, Gwer-East, Kwande, Ukum, Logo, Agatu, and Apa counties.
Former Benue Gov. Samuel Ortom in 2023 gave staggering statistics of the carnage, saying 6,000 residents of the state were killed, leaving the state grappling with more than two million Internally Displaced Persons, (IDPs,). The IDP’s barely survived in official- and unofficial IDP camps across the state.
Guma Official Calls for Help
Orwough Maurice, County Chairman of Guma and Chairman, Association of All Local Governments (Counties) of Nigeria (ALGON), revealed the level of devastation caused by Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) in an interview with reporters in Makurdi.
“When I assumed office 3 months ago, 90 percent of the infrastructures, ranging from schools, hospitals to markets were completely destroyed by Fulani terrorists. Only 5 schools were still standing and functional in the entire County,” Maurice said.
“Many of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are now returning to their ancestral homes after so many years in IDPs Camps but have no shelters to lay their heads as their houses were either destroyed or burnt down completely by the terrorists. –
“We call on the Federal Government to intervene in rebuilding the destroyed structures as is being done for victims of Boko Haram terrorists in the Northeast,” Maurice went on to say. “We are also calling on public-spirited individuals, nongovernmental organisations and International Community for their intervention so that the thousands of out-of-school children can return to continue their education, and that the IDPs can return to continue with their farming activities”, Maurice went on to say.
Guma County Youth Leader speaks
Enoch Bemshima Ortese, Guma Youth Leader and Former Senior Special Assistant to the Former Governor of Benue State on Media, while corroborating the heart-touching analysis of the pathetic situation of his people by Guma County Chairman, said the persistent attacks on Guma by Fulani terrorists have destroyed virtually all the infrastructures in Guma and similarly begged for help.
“Most villages in Mbawa, Yogbo (Mbagwem), Nzorov, Ityondo and Nongov communities were affected. The people were driven away from their ancestral homes from 2013 and have started returning after some gentlemanly peace agreements,” Ortese went on to say.
“The people need security, shelters, schools, good water, hospitals and empowerment, as insecurity has taken away the better parts of their livelihoods”, Ortese re-echoed.
As the people take the advantage of the sudden but fragile lulls in violence in the state to return home to rebuild their lives, the International Community is receiving calls to intervene by rebuilding the destroyed schools, so that the out-of-school children could return to continue with their education in order to prevent proliferation of future criminals, bandits and terrorists.
Olikita Ekani is a Conflict Reporter with TruthNigeria.
