Insecurity: Gov Ortom flags off reconstruction of dreaded road to prevent militia attacks

IT used to be a dreaded route. The mere mention of Makurdi-Yogbo-Udei-Branch-Udei Road-usually evoked fear and anxiety for one major reason: mass killings. Security men, farmers and passers-by perished in large numbers along this axis of evil.

The road became an enclave of armed herdsmen where many innocent travellers were trapped and killed in the past. Yet this vital but deplorable route connects Benue to the neighbouring state of Nasarawa.

The 55-kilometre road that links Makurdi, the state capital and Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, can be described as an axis of evil because of the access it provides for evil merchants, killer herdsmen and kidnappers, who often lurk around the route looking for who to kill, destroy or steal from. Unfortunately,  it was difficult for security agents to penetrate and rescue any victim trapped by them. Those who dared to traverse that path never came back alive to tell their stories and those who managed to return, never did so in good shape.

As a result, the embattled communities along the route continue to live in despair and at the mercy of the armed invaders who usually had a field day whenever they struck because despite its strategic importance to the people of both Benue and Nasarawa states the stretch of road had never been motorable since the creation of both states. But the good news is that this sad story will soon   become a thing of the past as the Benue State Government led by Governor Samuel Ortom, has begun moves to rebuild the road and reduce the plight of communities lying along the path.