Hon. Dickson Tarkighir, a member of the House of Representatives representing Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency, has raised alarm over the total collapse of agricultural activities in Benue State, declaring that the state can no longer be referred to as Nigeria’s “food basket” due to persistent violent attacks.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday after presenting a motion on the floor of the House, Tarkighir lamented that farmers in the state have been unable to access their farmlands for nearly a decade because of unrelenting bloodshed.
“Benue is now an empty basket,” he said. “The farmers who once sustained our economy have been pushed out of their ancestral lands due to the endless cycle of violence.”
The lawmaker cited the horrific June 13 attack in Guma Local Government Area, where armed assailants invaded Yelewata and Daudu communities, killing over 200 people, including farmers and displaced persons.
He described the brutality as unimaginable, recounting gruesome details of the massacre. “Infants had their limbs chopped off. Pregnant women were butchered. Children were burned alive. What happened in those villages was nothing short of inhuman,” he stated.
Tarkighir emphasised that the recent attack was just one in a long series of violent incidents that have displaced thousands of people across his constituency and other parts of Benue State.
He called for urgent government intervention, stressing that the continuous displacement of farming communities threatens not only the state’s economy but also Nigeria’s food security.
Tarkighir urged both state and federal authorities to take decisive action to restore security, warning that failure to do so would lead to further devastation in what was once the nation’s agricultural stronghold.
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cc: Daily Post Ng
