Benue: Attacks not religious conflict – Dep Gov, Ode reveals real cause of conflict

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Benue State Deputy Governor, Sam Ode, has refuted claims that recent violence in the state is driven by religious tensions. He asserted that the attacks are instead part of a deliberate strategy by armed herders to take over ancestral lands from native populations, using open grazing as a cover.

Ode made this known while receiving a delegation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and staff from the U.S. Congress, who were on a courtesy visit to the Benue State Government House in Makurdi. He stood in for Governor Hyacinth Alia during the meeting.

He explained that the repeated assaults on rural settlements are intended to forcibly displace indigenous people, creating space for unregulated grazing a system he criticized as both outdated and unsustainable.

“These conflicts are not religious.They are deliberate attempts to sack indigenes from their lands. The pressure on land, coupled with archaic grazing methods, is at the heart of this crisis,” he noted.

Ode further emphasized that the implementation of ranching is the only effective and modern solution to the crisis. He said ranching conforms to international best practices and would help re-establish stability in the affected communities.

“We are committed to working with the federal authorities to ensure peace and security for our people,” he added.

The visiting UNHCR and U.S. delegation also toured the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp located at the Makurdi International Market.

Ode welcomed the visit as a meaningful gesture, describing it as evidence of the delegation’s sincere interest in gaining an accurate understanding of the ongoing humanitarian emergency.

Jessie Ainslie, a U.S.-based official with the UNHCR who led the team, extended sympathies to the Benue State government over the ongoing challenges.

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