APA WOMEN IN A PROTEST MARCH OVER FULANI HERDSMEN KILLINGS
Ugbokpo, Benue State – June 3, 2025
There is an ongoing protest march sweeping through Apa Local Government Area of Benue State today as hundreds of women under the banner “Voice of the Hopeless Women” took to the streets in a peaceful but emotionally charged demonstration against the escalating killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen in their communities.
In a letter titled “Notification of a Peaceful Demonstration” and addressed to the local authorities, the group expressed deep anguish over what they described as relentless and targeted attacks on their families, homes, and farmlands. The letter, signed by the bereaved women of Apa and endorsed by the Hunter Group of NIE, Apa Chapter, was sent to the Chairman of Apa LGA, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Civil Defence, Volunteer Guard, and traditional and religious leaders.
“We have been triggered by their entrance into our farms, homes, and rooms to kill and destroy our children, husbands, and dear loved ones, including fellow women,” the letter reads in part. “Today, our children can hardly go to school, our lives are in danger, our future in shambles.”
This protest follows the Sunday killing in Ankpali Edikwu, also in Apa LGA, where armed men reportedly stormed homes in broad daylight, brutally killing residents in what witnesses described as a deliberate and savage attack. Eyewitness accounts suggest that the victims were not caught in crossfire but hunted down in their own houses, a pattern increasingly being reported in the region.
As this story unfolds, sources confirm ongoing demonstrations across the LGA, with reports of new attacks in Odugbo, where gunshots were reportedly heard in the early hours of today, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The palpable fear and tension are compounded by a perceived silence from both state and federal authorities, which many residents say has emboldened the attackers.
“Even in the North East where Boko Haram operates, they don’t go into people’s homes to slaughter them like animals,” one protester lamented. “But in Ankpali and other parts of Apa, Fulani herdsmen go from house to house, butchering people in such dehumanising and cruel manners.”
There is a growing sentiment in Apa that “the government’s silence is too golden and complicit,” as no high-profile official has sincerely and publicly condemned the recent atrocities. This has fueled suspicion of neglect or indifference, with civil society groups and women’s associations now demanding concrete action.
The protesters carrying placards with messages such as “Stop Killing Our Men”, “We Are Widows Not by Choice”, and “Enough is Enough”, are calling for an immediate deployment of security personnel, a government investigation, and relief for affected families.
