Tyoshin community of Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State has lost about five hundred and eleven lives to the blood thirsty herdsmen.
This was contained in a release signed by the National President Forum of Tyoshin Academics (FoTA), Professor Patrick Iyorwuese Ukase and Secretary, Professor John Ajai which was made available to journalists in Makurdi.
The forum lamented that the attack on the community started since 2011and a lot of people have been killed in these years for no genuine cause.
“Since 2011, the toll of this violence has been staggering. Between 2011 and 2017, 192 sons and daughters of Tyoshin were gruesomely murdered by herders. From 2018 to 2023, the numbers escalated, with 302 more lives lost in the area. This year alone, 17 individuals have been mercilessly hacked down by these herders. These figures do not include those who have disappeared and have not been seen since 2011. In all, we have lost over 511 lives to this relentless onslaught.
“Once again, the people of Tyoshin were today visited with another blood bath. Today marks another day of mourning, another black day etched in the hearts of our community. The relentless wave of violence continues as suspected Fulani armed herders have, once more, unleashed terror on our people—this time along the Naka-Makurdi Road. The lives of five innocent souls, desperately taken to a clinic for treatment, have tragically slipped away, their cries unheard. Others lie in agony, fighting for their lives, yet the true number of those attacked remains unknown.
The group noted with displeasure that “Tyoshin land is bleeding, its cries drowned in the deafening silence of indifference. Our villages, our homes, and our very existence have been under siege for too long. Nine council wards of the Gwer-West Local Government Area have already fallen into the hands of these ruthless attackers.”
The forum informed that the tragedy was a grim continuation of a war that has ravaged their land, leaving them shattered and broken.
The academics also acknowledged in tears, the blood of our brothers and sisters was spilt in Camp-Nagi, Mbachohon, where three more were brutally murdered.
The leaders of the forum noted that in the face of this terror, the silence from those sworn to protect them was deafening and according to them, the Tyoshin people were abandoned and forsaken by the very government that should shield them.
According to them “the Federal Government and the Benue State Government remain disturbingly quiet, their inaction a haunting reminder of how alone we truly are.
“Even the military presence, meant to offer protection, stands idle as the bloodbath continues. Our people fall, one by one, as these attackers roam freely, unchallenged and unafraid.”
They wondered “How much longer will we endure this pain? How many more must die before our cries are heard? How many villages must be razed, and how many lives must be destroyed before the world recognizes the suffering of Tyoshin’s land? We are a people on the brink of extinction, and yet, our pleas remain unanswered.”
The forum which pleaded with President Bola Tinubu and Governor Hyacinth Alia to come to their rescue, insisted that they were not asking for pity.
“We ask for justice, protection, and the right to live in our homeland without the constant fear of death. Do not let Tyoshin become a memory. Act now, before it is too late.” The forum said.
