The United Nations, UN, on Tuesday revealed that over 1,400 people have been killed by Fulani herdsmen within a period of six months.
The UN Country Director, Edward Kallon lamented the spate of killings in Nigeria, which is as a result of banditry and kidnapping by suspected herdsmen.
Kallon stated this in Makurdi, Benue state capital, at a meeting with Governor Samuel Ortom.
He noted that killings by armed herdsmen and bandits outweigh killings by the Boko Haram terrorists in the country.
He said, “Pockets of conflicts and insecurity in the country at large especially where I am today (Benue), the herders and farmers crisis and also kidnapping and banditry. This is now really getting out of hand.
“The last statistics I saw from the government was that over 1,400 people were killed as a result of kidnapping and banditry since the elections.
“This is not a pleasant statistics.”
Kallon also pointed out that institutional failure at all levels of governance was responsible for the killings.
He, therefore, called on the government to pay attention to issues of insecurity.
“We all know the statistics and the menace of herders/farmers problems. There were more people killed by the herders and farmers crisis than the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria.
“When I said this in Abuja, it was not being welcomed but that was one statistics we have. These are all due to weak institutions and governance deficit at the Federal, state and local level,” Kallon said.
The UN director is in Benue state to follow up on earlier commitment by the UN to support the rehabilitation and resettlement programme for victims of herdsmen attacks in the state.
