No less than twenty one out of forty communities in Bunu District, Kabba-Bunu local government area of Kogi state, have been attacked by armed bandits.
Bunu Kingdom boasts of 19 solid minerals deposit in commercial quantities spread across the 40 communities.
Leaders of Bunu Development Association (BDA), Bunu Initiative Generation (BIG), Bunu Student Association, Women Development Union and other stakeholders stormed Lokoja, capital of Kogi state, on Tuesday to call on Federal and Kogi State Governments as well as the international communities to the humanitarian crisis in the area.
Addressing a press conference in Lokoja, the President of Bunu Development Association, Pastor Kolawole Johnson, said over 60 persons from the communities are still languishing in kidnappers’ den.
He said Bunuland, a peaceful agrarian region in central Nigeria, is currently facing a grave and escalating security and humanitarian crisis.
He noted that what began as sporadic attacks has now evolved into sustained violence marked by killings, kidnappings, terror raids, and forced displacement of innocent civilians.
“Our farmers are being attacked on their farmlands. Travelers are abducted on public roads. Women, children, and the elderly are fleeing ancestral homes in fear. Entire villages are gradually emptying. This is no longer a local problem. It is a humanitarian emergency and a threat to community survival.” he said.
Pastor Johnson said despite efforts by government authorities, the scale, frequency, and persistence of these attacks indicate that current responses remain insufficient as many communities feel increasingly
vulnerable and exposed, and public confidence continues to erode.
He called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo and the security agencies to upscale their efforts to salvage the people from the terror of bandits who have been launching coordinated attacks on the people.
BDA appealed for strengthened and permanent security presence in high-risk areas, improved intelligence-led operations, humanitarian support for displaced families, medical and welfare assistance for community defenders, transparent documentation and investigation of all attacks.
President, Bunu Student Association, Comrade Friday Aiyegboka, decried the continued neglect of Bunu communities.
He said the incidences of violent attack on their communities would reduce if government at all levels give Bunu Land proper attention.
He also called for relocation of Alape Crop Processing Zone back to Bunu Land where it was initially sited.
