Benue Youths Protest Bandit Attacks: INEC Office Burned Down in Ukum LGA

Benue youths protesting against escalating bandit attacks in Ukum Local Government Area set the INEC office in Sankara ablaze on Wednesday, July 3, 2
024. The protest followed the killing of 11 residents of Ayati community by bandits on Tuesday night.

 Earlier on Monday, three internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Agagbe Camp were also killed while returning from their farms.

The protesting youths stormed the Ukum LGA council secretariat in Zaki Biam, destroying valuables and razing the building. The INEC office was also set on fire, with no casualties reported but extensive damage to the building. Several items were destroyed, including furniture, 10 generators, 300 ballot boxes, and 270 voting cubicles.

The violent protest prompted Governor Hyacinth Alia to declare a 24-hour dusk-to-dawn curfew in Ukum LGA, which will continue from 6 pm to 6 am daily until further notice. Ukum LGA has been a flashpoint of criminality in Benue State, with frequent killings and kidnappings by local militiamen