The chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria in Benue State, Alhaji Ardo Risku, and his son Ibrahim were killed by local militia members on their way home from a peace meeting in Otukpo.
Sources say it happened near Ahimeni in the Okodu area. The two had just left talks that were supposed to help communities live together without conflict.
The killings have people worried again about the violence that keeps flaring up across parts of Benue. These attacks never really stop, and they keep feeding ethnic tensions.
Locals called it a cruel irony. The victims died right after sitting down to talk about peace.
Community leaders and other stakeholders are warning Nigerians not to let the crimes of a few trigger ethnic profiling or blanket blame. Criminal acts belong to the people who commit them, they say, not to any tribe or faith.
They point out that millions of Fulani men, women, and children live ordinary, law-abiding lives and contribute to the places they settle. The rest of them shouldn’t be punished for what a handful of criminals do.
The episode makes it clear that government officials, security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and local stakeholders need to keep working together. Only steady cooperation can tackle the insecurity and actually build peace around the country.
Security authorities have not released any official statement yet. Reports say teams are still trying to track down the killers.
This attack simply piles onto the familiar pattern of violence in parts of the country. It shows once more that we need lasting steps to protect ordinary people and allow Nigerians from different backgrounds to live together without fear.
