Igbo residents in various parts of Benue State, particularly Gboko have alleged that they have become targets of kidnapping and murder by native gangs and bandits.
The alarm was raised on Monday by some of the residents who addressed journalists at a press conference in Enugu, the Enugu State capital.
One of the leader’s of the Igbo community in Gboko, Mr. Okafor Nnolim, alleged that an Igbo person is either kidnapped or murdered in Benue State every week.
He lamented, “We have been subjected to paying millions of naira in ransom.
“We can no longer do our businesses freely for fear of being kidnapped or murdered. Since January this year, we have had over 50 Igbo people kidnapped and some murdered in cold blood by bandits and suspected herdsmen.”
Speaking also, Mr. Ikem Ani said that they have been subjected to untold hardship.
“There is virtually no week that an Igbo person is not kidnapped. We have tried to engage the state Police Command to no avail. We are therefore crying out for the world to know the fate of Ndigbo in Benue State,” he bemoaned.
In his own comments, Ndukaku Onyekwere, a fabrics dealer at the Gboko Central Market accused security agencies of complicity saying, “Igbo in Benue State are being systematically decimated and our businesses are gradually being ruined by these kidnappers and bandits.”
