A communal clash between two Benue and Ebonyi communities has claimed at least two persons, and the disappearance of several others.
The incident occurred in Otsukputu community, Ezaa, in Ado Local Government Area of Benue State on Friday.
The Ezza Ezekuna Benue Development Association, EEBDA, in a statement on Saturday, identified the victims as Mr Jude Nweke and Mrs Nwankwo Umanyi.
The President-General of EEBDA, Perpetual Nkechi Okafor, and the chairman of the association’s board of trustees, Chief Ogbuefi Nweke Linus Chinedu, who both signed the statement, strongly condemned the attack and called for immediate government intervention.
“We are calling on the Benue State governor, the Inspector-General of Police, and all relevant security agencies to urgently intervene and halt the ongoing violence against our people.
“It is imperative to establish security camps in the affected areas to protect lives and property and restore peace in Ado LGA.”
The association also appealed to non-governmental organisations and civil society actors to lend their voices and resources towards addressing the growing humanitarian crisis in the region.
The latest incident marks another chapter in the persistent communal clashes that have plagued parts of Benue and neighbouring Ebonyi State, as tensions between the Effium and Ezza communities continue to escalate, claiming lives and displacing families.
Several efforts made in the past to end the clashes have not yielded results.
The latest development comes amid the killing of several persons in Benue by suspected herdsmen.