5 killed in Benue community

At least five people have been killed in a fresh attack in Udeku Maav-Ya community in Kwande LGA of Benue State.

Witnesses said the attack which occurred on Tuesday at about 4pm was carried out by suspected armed herders while farmers were harvesting yams and bambara nuts.

A former Supervisory Councillor in Kwande LGA, Akerigba Lawrence, who disclosed the incident, said the community was caught unawares.

He said those killed were Tyozua Gyuse, Gbaga Gyuse, and Tersuur Ijighka, while the identities of the two other victims were yet to be confirmed, even as search efforts were still ongoing.

He added that schools, churches and markets in the area had been shut down as residents continued to lament alleged neglect by authorities despite repeated appeals for intervention.

He said, “We have not seen this number of herders in our place before; every day at about 4am, they start shooting, they don’t allow people to access the river bank where they fetch water. They destroy our crops, houses and economic trees.

“Our children no longer go to school, churches are closed, our markets are destroyed. We receive not much attention from the government. Any time our people are killed, they come with promises, and in the end, nothing is done. We are at the mercy of the armed herders.”

Confirming the incident, the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Benue State chapter, and Chairman of Kwande LGA, Tersua Yarkwan, said the attack occurred in Udeku village on Tuesday evening after the armed invaders mounted mercenaries in a border community close to the Republic of Cameroon.

Police spokesperson for Benue Command, DSP Udeme Edet, was yet to respond to calls and messages put through her telephone.

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