At least 24 persons have been reportedly killed in renewed attacks by suspected herdsmen in Mbakyondo, Mbakpa and
Sengaev communities in the Agagbe area of Gwer West local government
area of Benue State.
According to Vanguard, it was gathered from a reliable source in
the area that the attackers stormed the three communities around 2 am
yesterday, shooting sporadically and burning down houses and huts in the
communities.
The source said: “They came in their numbers wielding sophisticated weapons, shooting anything on sight and razing the houses of the people.
“As we speak not less than 10 persons may have been killed,
most of them were gunned down while fleeing while some were burnt alive
in their houses.
“Scores have been injured while many are also unaccounted for
though there is total confusion and palpable tension in the entire Gwer
West Local Government Area at the moment.
“The crisis has led to a mass movement of people mostly women
and children from the affected communities to Naka the local government
headquarters.
“Our fear is that the attackers, who are moving unrestrained,
may storm Naka because the residents of Naka have also started fleeing
their homes, some are currently moving towards Adoka in Otukpo Local
Government Area.
“We may have a huge humanitarian crisis in Naka if nothing is done urgently to stem this problem.”
Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday April 5th, members of the House
of Representatives from Benue state, said the attacks occured from
April 2nd to April 4th in seven communities.
Speaking on behalf of the lawmakers, Hon. Dickson Takighir, said:
“These latest attacks have occurred in Ikyon and Agasha on April 3
and April 4; in Semaka, Asom, Babanruwa on April 3 and in Udei and
Umenger on April 2. They (the herdsmen) are right now stationed at
Nzorov council ward, ready to attack Gbajimba in the Guma Local
Government Area. There are others in Nasarawa, ready to attack Udei and
Daudu with over 14 people killed in the last four days. Similarly,
Sengev, Mbakyondo and Mbapa areas of Gwer-West local government area are
currently under siege by armed herdsmen. In Tsegaase, two people have
been killed; one person is missing in Zwatema, two killed in Tse Adeke,
one killed in Tse Adudu with one missing in Tsekelefu. So far, we have
yet to confirm the casualty level in Enger. On April 3, four people were
killed in Anyebe and one person at Mbavihi both in Tonbo ward of Logo
local government.” he said
Speaking further, Dickson said “We also demand that the
government should deploy a proper military operation in Benue State and
to also station military units in restive communities in Benue until the
herdsmen menace has been dealt with”.
Vanguard recalls that recently, the Benue State Commissioner of
Police, Fatai Owoseni, had alerted that there was growing tension in
Gwer West over brewing crisis between herdsmen and farmers.
He had assured that the Police was taking steps to douse the
tension and restore normalcy in the area through its dispute resolution
mechanism.