August 11, (THEWILL) – Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr Hyacinth Alia, has condemned the assassination of Mr Chris Terfa, a prominent health rights advocate and leader in Nigeria’s development sector.
Until his assassination, Mr Terfa was the National Chairperson of the National Key Population Health and Rights Network (NKPHRN) and the Executive Director of Concerned Youth for Development Initiative (CYDI).
He was killed on Friday evening, at his office complex on Nyesom Wike Road, by yet to be identified assailants.
In a statement in Makurdi on Sunday, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sir Tersoo Kula, said Governor Alia, along with some top government functionaries, visited the family of the deceased after Church service, to express deep sorrow over the loss and extended his condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased.
“The Governor recalled the deceased’s significant contributions to the health and human rights sectors, particularly his efforts in advocating for vulnerable populations in the fight against HIV/AIDS”.
The statement quotes the Governor as commending the prompt actions of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of E Division, Daniel Ezeala and his team, as the ongoing investigation aims to uncover further details and identifying the culprits.
The governor was told that a star suspect was already in custody and was cooperating, the Governor further directed all security agencies in the state to hunt and ensure the perpetrators and anyone connected to the dastardly act is apprehended and brought to book.
He assured the public that the state government is fully committed to ensuring that justice is swiftly served.
The death of Chris Terfa has been met with widespread shock and mourning across Benue and beyond.
The statement added that, governor Alia remains focused on working with all stakeholders to maintain peace, security, and progress in the state.
It will be recalled that the late activist was away from town for a couple of weeks and on arrival, had went to the office during which gunmen alleged to be in connivance with a staff struck on on that fateful day.
At the moment, the Police Public Relations Officer for Benue State command, SP Sewuese Anene, could not confirm the incident as she could not respond to text messages sent to her.
