Drama as angry Benue youths chase away Police Commissioner from protest venue

Protesters in Benue State on Sunday forced the Commissioner of Police, Emenari Ifeanyi, to leave the Wurukum Roundabout in Makurdi after he attempted to address a crowd of angry youths demonstrating against the recent mass killings in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area.

The demonstrators, dressed in black and holding placards, had gathered at the popular roundabout to express their outrage over the brutal killing of over 200 residents by suspected armed herdsmen. Their chants demanded justice, security, and urgent government action to end the bloodshed.

Tension escalated when the police commissioner, accompanied by a team of heavily armed officers, arrived to speak to the protesters. However, the visibly aggrieved youths reacted angrily, shouting him down and insisting he should go to Yelewata—the site of the massacre—rather than addressing them in the state capital.

“Go to Yelewata!” they chanted repeatedly, refusing to grant him audience.

The commissioner was eventually forced to retreat from the protest ground. Moments after his departure, police officers reportedly fired teargas canisters to disperse the crowd, triggering panic and chaos. Several protesters were said to have sustained injuries while fleeing the scene.

The protest marks a growing wave of frustration among Benue youths who feel abandoned in the face of recurring violent attacks.