The Senate has condemned the killing of 113 persons, including six mobile police officers, in coordinated attacks on communities in Benue State.
The upper chamber, rising from plenary on Thursday, demanded urgent federal intervention to halt the killings and called for intensified security operations and immediate humanitarian aid for displaced residents.
The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Senator Emmanuel Udende (Benue North-East) under Orders 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Rules.
Presenting the motion, Udende said the attacks occurred during the Senate recess in Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo Local Government Areas, leaving a trail of deaths, destruction and displacement.
According to him, 24 persons were killed in Sai community, Katsina-Ala LGA, while 63 others were murdered in Mbaom and Aboju villages in Ukum LGA.
In Ayilammo, Logo LGA, another 15 persons, including six mobile policemen on duty, were killed. He added that fresh attacks were also recorded on October 8, 2026, in Sebiliji and Seshishi Nyaku villages in Ukum.
“In total, 113 precious lives were lost, properties worth millions of naira destroyed, and thousands of families displaced from their ancestral homes,” Udende told the Senate.
He warned that the persistent violence has crippled farming and economic activities in the affected areas, worsening hardship among rural dwellers.
Contributing to the motion, lawmakers expressed concern that the killing of security operatives deployed to protect lives underscored the scale of the security challenge in the state.
Adopting the motion unanimously, the Senate called on the Federal Government to deploy additional security personnel with adequate equipment and logistics to the affected communities.
It specifically urged the Inspector-General of Police, the Chief of Army Staff and heads of other security and intelligence agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering, establish early-warning and rapid-response mechanisms, and ensure the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
The Senate also directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in collaboration with the Benue State Emergency Management Agency, to provide immediate relief materials, including food, shelter and other essentials, to victims and displaced families.
To ensure compliance, the Senate mandated its Committee on Legislative Compliance to monitor implementation of the resolutions.
The chamber observed a minute’s silence in honour of the victims and condoled with their families, the affected communities and the Nigeria Police Force over the death of its personnel.
