Terrorists have killed at least a dozen residents barely 48 hours after Jacob Gbamwuam, the director general of the Bureau of Homeland Security in Benue State, sat before cameramen and journalists on Saturday confidently denying mass killings in Turan District between December and early February.
The terrorists invaded communities in Chembe and Tse Akpur in the same Turan District in the Kwande Local Government (LGA) area of the state, murdering residents, burning down houses and displacing families.
“Without any fear of contradiction, there has never been any such killings in Turan Community or any other part of Benue State between December 2024 and February 2025. We have security presence in all these places,” Gbamwuam said, claiming that some of the reports about killings in the state were “sponsored”.
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Jacob Gbamwuam addressing journalists on Saturday. Source: AIT.
“This story of killings in Turan is completely fake. There is no element of truth in it and I can assure you that there is no such thing in Turan Community or any part of Benue for that matter. There is no element of truth in all these (reported) killings.”
Kwande LGA is located on the fringe of Nigeria’s border with Cameroon and shares a boundary with Taraba State.
Usually, terrorists launch their attacks on these communities at night. On Monday night, some residents sighted the armed criminals moving towards their houses and they quickly ran to safety. Some escaped while others were not so lucky.
A male resident, simply identified as Martins for safety reasons, told FIJ that the attackers emerged from the Taraba boundary area and crossed into their communities, linking the incident to a competition over mining rights between the affected communities and those on the Taraba side.
“Many bodies are yet to be retrieved from the bush. We usually pay as much as N200,000 to security operatives to escort us into the bush to recover our people’s bodies,” Martins said.
“I don’t know if they will request money this time around, but it was a common practice in the immediate past.”
S/NNAMENATURE1Orkpam Adya GbimdeDead2Orkp Ahua AbagiDead3Mzengega TungohgDead4Iornengen AkiDead5Tehemen KunbughDead6Terngu Gbaior SaarDead7Opar TsavbeeDead8Tsavbee GagunDead9Torundu IkereveDead10Ahamgna AtuleDead11Kulekule TaeghDead12Terfa AduleDead13Tersuu TahakuCritically injured14Akaakoho AudiCritically injured15Songol AmisheCritically injured16Tarhemen AlahaCritically injuredSome names of the dead and surviving victims.
“All these attacks have their roots in the illegal mining activities around those communities. Our traditional rulers and political actors are also involved and they form the influential cartels backing it.
“The killers razed down 24 houses and two motorcycles in the process. The motorcycles were owned by Mngunenakaa Adim and Adamu Shahu.”
FIJ found images and videos of the victims too graphic to publish.
Meanwhile, the Movement for Turan Liberation, a group of people indigenous to the area, has called for the immediate sack of the homeland security chief for lying about the attacks while families mourn their loved ones.
“The movement for Turan Liberation (MTL) strongly condemns the recent public misrepresentation of the security situation in Benue State by Mr Jacob Gbamwuam, the Director General of the Bureau for Homeland Security,” the group wrote in a press release posted by Akaatyoo Dickson, its coordinator, on Facebook.
The community group calls for Gbamwuam’s dismissal by the state governor. Source: Facebook.
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“His recent comments on AIT Live, where he blatantly denied the ongoing killings in Turan Community and Kwande at large by Fulani terrorists and falsely proclaimed total peace in the state, are not only misleading but also a gross betrayal of the people of Benue.
“At a time when the security crisis in Benue is at its peak, Mr Gbamwuam’s deliberate falsehoods have misled the Federal Government, the State Government and the general public on the realities on the ground.
“This reckless and irresponsible statement does not only bring shame to Benue State but is also a serious embarrassment to the Hyacinth Alia-led administration, raising questions about the governor’s judgement in appointing such an incompetent individual to oversee a critical security office.”
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