Fresh Tragedy in Benue: Suspected Herdsmen Attack Akume’s Hometown Just 48 Hours After Tinubu’s Visit
Less than 48 hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s high-profile visit to Benue State to address escalating insecurity, tragedy has once again struck—this time, in Wannune, the hometown of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.
Sources confirmed to Daily Post that suspected herdsmen launched a brutal assault on the Wannune community, located in Tarka Local Government Area, leaving multiple residents dead and several others critically injured.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic, bloodshed, and mass displacement. A youth corps member currently serving in the area provided a harrowing account:
“Everyone is running into the bushes for safety. Please let Nigerians pray for us. The herdsmen are ravaging the environment now,” he said, calling for urgent security intervention.
Security Questioned After Presidential Tour
The timing of the attack has raised fresh questions about the effectiveness and impact of President Tinubu’s recent visit to the troubled state. During his tour, the President convened with key stakeholders and gave a firm directive to security chiefs, including the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of Defence Staff, to apprehend those behind the ongoing massacres.
Observers now argue that those directives have yet to yield any tangible results. The assault on Wannune appears to mock the president’s commitment and lays bare the state’s fragile security architecture.
A State Under Siege
The latest violence comes on the heels of the horrific killings in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area, where over 200 people were slaughtered in an incident that drew widespread national and international condemnation.
Benue, often referred to as Nigeria’s food basket, has in recent years become a hotbed of deadly farmer-herder conflicts, leaving thousands dead and displacing countless families.
Despite repeated promises from successive administrations, a lasting solution remains elusive.
Public Trust Eroding
The attack on the SGF’s home community sends a chilling message: nowhere is safe—not even the hometown of one of the nation’s highest-ranking officials. The development is likely to intensify calls for a more aggressive, coordinated, and community-driven security strategy in the Middle Belt region.
For many Benue residents, President Tinubu’s visit offered a flicker of hope. But for the people of Wannune, that hope is now overshadowed by fresh bloodshed.