Konshisha: Compensate victims of Army invasion – Tiv Youths to FG

The umbrella body of Tiv youths in Benue State known as Tiv Youth Organisation (TYO) worldwide at the weekend urged the Federal Government to compensate victims of Shangev-Tiev in Konshisha Local Government Area, who were massacred and who had their property destroyed by military forces over missing soldiers.

President-General of the organisation, Mr. Timothy Hembaor, in a statement in Makurdi, also called for the immediate constitution of a judicial commission of inquiry to thoroughly investigate the crisis between the Tiv people of Konshisha Local Government and their Igede neighbours from Oju Local Government.

“We call on the Federal Government to fully compensate for lost lives and property in the crisis.

“We also urge the National Assembly, and other sociocultural groups in Nigeria, non-governmental organisations and international communities to condemn the crimes of strafing, mass murder, collective punishment and ethnic cleansing of the Tiv people of Benue State by the Nigeria military.

“We call on the military to halt all illicit hostilities on the peaceful and unarmed communities of Konshisha and Gwer- East Local Government Areas”. The group commended GovernorSamuelOrtomforhis resolutestandandconstitutional measures evolved to protect and secure the people of the state so far and his intervention in this matter. Hembaor condemned “the use of military helicopter gunships to decimate its civilian populationintheguise that they are chasing bandits,” maintain ing that there are no bandits in Shangev Tiev involved inthesaid communal crisis.

“It is our considered stand that there are no bandits in Shangev Tiev involved in this crisis. Bandits are armed robbers and outlaws and these are not the kind of people that are involved in the crisis, even on the side of Igede.”