Benue bans protest in attacked council area

The Benue State Government has banned all forms of demonstrations and public protests across the entire Sankera axis, which encompasses three local government areas in the North-East Senatorial District.

The ban on protests was announced following a high-level State Security Council meeting convened at the Government House in Makurdi.

The Council’s meeting also resulted in the approval of a new Homeland Security Bureau, designed to enhance the state’s security infrastructure by streamlining communication and coordination between the Governor’s office and security agencies.

Furthermore, the council directed that the curfew in the entire Sankera area of the state should continue until further notice.

The state governor, Hyacinth Alia, who was represented by his deputy, Sam Ode, disclosed this after a joint security meeting, noting that the new bureau will be headed by a Director General to be appointed by him.

He said, “On the recent attacks in Ukum Local Government Area, the Security Council directed that the curfew in the entire Sankera area of the state should continue. It further places a ban on protest in the entire axis until further notice.”

Sankera axis, which comprises three local government areas, Ukum, Katsina-Ala and Logo, has been a flashpoint of criminality in the state for years.

The latest crisis that rocked one of the LGAs from the axis, precisely Ukum LGA, was the violent protest that led to destruction of personal and government properties.

Governor Alia reported that three soldiers and two policemen were wounded while trying to maintain peace during a deadly protest in Ayati community, Ukum LGA, which claimed the lives of 11 individuals.

The governor also revealed that the Security Council has decided that the government should set up a Judicial Panel of Inquiry to probe the destruction of public and private properties in Ukum, following the recent protest, to determine the causes and extent of the damage.