FRESH attacks on two local government areas of Benue State have resulted in the death of 26 persons.
The victims were killed in overnight attacks on communities in Makurdi and Katsina-Ala local government areas of Benue State.
No fewer than 25 of them were struck to death in Mtswenem and Akondotyough Bawa communities in the North Bank area of Makurdi Local Government Area, while one person was killed in a different attack on Agbami and Kenvanger villages in Mbatyula ward of Katsina-Ala Local Government.
Residents said armed men attacked the communities between midnight on Thursday with guns and machetes. A resident reported that the gunmen invaded homes, killing people while they slept. Iorpuu, a witness, told Daily Trust that the victims included women and children, while many others were still missing.
He recounted that the attackers suddenly started killing people, and while some managed to escape, others didn’t. He also mentioned that the death toll rose to 25 as some victims died on their way to the hospital.
Another witness reported that the attackers initially killed four people in a village near the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, before moving to another community near the Low-Cost housing estate, where they killed more.
The witness added that the attackers invaded Kenvanger and Agbami villages and attempted to rape some nursing mothers, who raised the alarm, prompting a confrontation with local men that came to their rescue.
The attackers then opened fire, killing one person and injuring many others. At Agbami, they beat up residents, but no death was recorded.
When contacted, the police public relations officer of the Benue Police Command, Udeme Edet, told Daily Trust that operatives from the command had been deployed to the affected areas in Makurdi and promised that further details would be made available to newsmen.
She, however, said the police hadn’t been informed about the Katsina-Ala incident at the time of reporting.
The ICIR reported on Wednesday that gunmen launched fresh attacks on two local government areas (LGAs) of Benue State.
The attack, which occurred in Apa and Agatu LGAs in the troubled state, reportedly left scores of people dead.
Media reports showed that in the EdikwG’Icho community in Apa LGA, three youths lost their lives when they were ambushed and killed.
Two of the victims were said to hail from Edikwu-Echo, and the third was from Ugbokpo.
In Agatu LGA, a native of Odejo, Sunday Dutse, was reportedly killed along the Odugbeho-Ogbaulu road.
These attacks came shortly after top military leaders, including the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Olufemi Oluyede, visited the state and promised to restore peace.
The ICIR reports that following earlier deadly attacks on Gwer West and Apa LGAs, the COAS, Oluyede, moved to the state in a strategic push to curb the escalating violence.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the COAS was accompanied by Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) and other senior army officials for an on-the-ground security assessment.
Oluyede ordered additional deployment of troops and logistics to the state to pursue and dismantle criminal groups operating in the state.
Despite all the efforts by the COAS and his team, the killings in Benue have continued.
According to Daily Trust, at least 270 people have been killed in the state in the last two months.
Meanwhile, The ICIR reported that the state governor, Hyacinth Alia, alleged that some politicians serving in the National Assembly financed the recent attacks on the state.
The governor, however, did not name the politicians but hinted that an interim report from a judicial panel he set up revealed that many big names were involved.
He vowed to take up the matter as soon as he received the full report in the coming week.
The ICIR in a report highlighted how many villages in Benue have been caught in a deadly cycle of violence, with families torn apart, homes reduced to rubble, and communities forced to flee.
A reporter with the ICIR
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