James Umoru, a member representing Apa Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, has expressed frustration over the slow response of security agents to the killings and attacks in the state.

He accused military personnel of arriving at attack scenes long after the perpetrators had left.

“We have some army stationed in communities not far from where the attacks happened on Sunday, and they were not there. It took them over two hours after the perpetrators had left before they arrived,” he said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Tuesday.

He described the attacks as “alarming” and lamented the continued helplessness of residents in the face of repeated violence allegedly carried out by suspected herdsmen.

According to the lawmaker, the most recent incident occurred on Sunday in a ward in the Apa Local Government Area, where over 11 people were buried, one person remained missing, and five others were critically injured and receiving treatment in hospital.

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He said the entire community had been deserted as residents fled to save their lives.

“The security situation in Benue State is alarming. The Apa ward was attacked on Sunday, and I can tell you there is nobody presently in the community because they ran away for their lives,” Umoru stated.

“This is not the first time my local government has been attacked. There have been tons of killings since March this year and even last year.”

Umoru further revealed that farming activities have been crippled across at least six council wards in the area due to repeated attacks.

“Our people are dominantly farmers. No one can go to farms in my village and about six council wards in Apa Local Government,” he said.

“Even the yam they planted about 500 meters from their village herdsmen went there, uprooted it, packed it into sacks, and took it away.”

Umoru called for urgent intervention from both state and federal authorities to address the growing insecurity, warning that continuous silence could further plunge the region into a humanitarian crisis.