5 Killed In Bandits’ Fresh Attacks As Benue Govt Conducts Mass Burial For 17 Others
No fewer than five people have been killed while a woman was also abducted by hoodlums suspected to be bandits across three local government areas of Benue State.
The separate attacks happened in Agatu, Apa and Gwer West Local Government Areas of the state within 48 hours.
Some community sources told newsmen on Tuesday that five people were killed in Agatu and Gwer West LGAs while many were reportedly injured and kidnapped in Apa LGA.
According to reports, bandits on Sunday attacked Ikpele village in the Agatu LGA at 6pm and killed four persons with one of them beheaded while three others were amputated.
One of the residents said, “One person was killed in another attack on rural farmers in Gwer West LGA, bringing the total of causalities on same Sunday invasion of the two LGAs to five during which several others were injured by the gunmen.”
In Apa LGA, though, no death was recorded, the bandits were said to have kidnapped a woman when they laid siege to the highway on Sunday and Monday to attack travelers along the Otukpo-Adoka-Oweto highway.
“They shot somebody in the leg and shot another vehicle’s tyres in Asaba-Ojantele of the Apa LGA. They also laid a siege between Iga and river Okpene of Apa LGA and kidnap a woman.
“As of Monday evening, they repeated the same attack on the highway on the same Asaba-Ojantele. People from the places have been totally sacked from their home in Asaba-Ojantele of Apa LGA,” one of the locals who did not want to be mentioned said.
A selfless worker in the area, Joseph Adakole, said that the continuous attacks by gunmen on Idoma land were getting out of hand as people were being killed every day with houses burnt down and the destruction of farm produce becoming unbearable.
At the Tuesday mass burial for the earlier victims, the Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, was represented by the deputy governor, Sam Ode.
Speaking on behalf of the governor, Ode said the best solution to end the incessant attacks by armed herders on Benue communities was the formation of vigilante groups.
This was as the state government, on Tuesday, conducted a mass burial for 17 victims of the armed herders’ attack earlier killed on Mbakyor at Mbaikyor, Mbalom in the Gwer-East LG of Benue State were, on Tuesday, given mass burial.