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Summary
Hundreds of women and youths in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State took to the streets on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, blocking the Otukpo-Abuja highway in a peaceful protest against repeated attacks by suspected herdsmen.
Traffic along the Otukpo-Abuja highway came to a standstill on Tuesday as women and youths from Apa Local Government Area of Benue State took to the streets in protest, demanding an end to what they describe as systematic killings by suspected herdsmen.
The demonstrators, many of them bereaved mothers, widows, and young people, marched under the name Voice of the Hopeless Women, calling for urgent intervention in the ongoing attacks that have left families displaced and communities devastated.
Carrying placards with messages such as “Stop Killing Our Men” and “Enough is Enough,” the group blocked major roads and urged the government to respond decisively to the violence.
The protest followed an attack on Sunday in Ankpali Edikwu, where armed men were reported to have entered residential homes in broad daylight and killed multiple people. Residents say the attackers operated house to house, leaving no opportunity for escape.
A protest letter submitted by the group to local authorities, including the council chairman, security agencies, and traditional leaders, described the situation as a “humanitarian disaster” and accused the state of abandoning its duty to protect lives.
“We are not safe in our homes, our children no longer go to school, and our farms have become killing fields,” the statement read.
One protester, who declined to be named, said the pattern of violence has intensified, with communities being overrun at night and residents being slaughtered in their sleep.
“Even Boko Haram does not enter people’s rooms to kill them like this,” she said. “This is no longer about herders and farmers, it’s a massacre.”
Reports on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, morning also indicated fresh gunfire in Odugbo, another community in the same local government area, sparking panic among residents and further fueling the protests.
Despite multiple letters, petitions, and calls to action, community leaders say no senior government official has visited the affected areas or made any public condemnation of the killings.
The protesters are demanding the immediate deployment of security forces, compensation for affected families, and an independent inquiry into the attacks.
