Frustrated residents of Otukpo and surrounding communities in Benue State mounted a significant protest on Tuesday, blocking the strategic Otukpo-Enugu Federal Highway to express their anger over deteriorating security conditions in the area.
Information has it that demonstrators, chanting “We no go gree! We no go gree!” in unison, disrupted traffic flow along the major interstate route as they demanded immediate government intervention to address the surge in violent crimes plaguing their communities.
According to eyewitnesses at the scene, the protest was triggered by a series of recent criminal incidents, particularly in the Asa community, which have left residents living in constant fear.
One protester, who identified himself only as Dan, told our correspondent: “Since the beginning of this year, robbery, kidnapping, and killings have increased in Otukpo. The government is not doing anything to stop it.”
He highlighted two recent incidents that escalated community tensions: “Last week, gunmen invaded the Asa community, raided nearly all the houses, stole valuables, and kidnapped a woman. Just yesterday (Monday), a man known as Akatu Onche was killed in his house by gunmen.”
A female participant in the demonstration, identified as Madam Christy, called for concrete security measures: “The state government must deploy more security operatives to Otukpo and surrounding areas to curb this growing insecurity.”
When contacted by KIIN360, the Chairman of Otukpo Local Government, Maxwell Ogiri, briefly acknowledged the situation while indicating he was engaged in an emergency security meeting. “The roadblock has been cleared,” he confirmed, without providing further details about planned security responses.
Meanwhile, Catherine Anene, spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, stated that she had not received official reports about the protest, despite social media circulation. “I have been seeing posts on Facebook, but I tried reaching the Divisional Police Officer in Otukpo, and he hasn’t picked up his phone,” she explained.
The demonstration underscores growing public frustration with perceived security lapses in rural and semi-urban areas of Benue State, where communities feel increasingly vulnerable to armed attacks with limited police response capacity.
Security analysts note that this protest is part of a pattern of community-level responses to insecurity in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, where residents increasingly resort to public demonstrations to draw attention to deteriorating conditions when formal security channels appear ineffective.
