IT
was another sad story in Benue State as gunmen, suspected to be Fulani
herdsmen, yesterday invaded Agena in Gwer Local Government Area of the
state, killing about 20 persons.The attack is coming barely three days after a bloody fight between Tiv youths and suspected Fulani marauders in Gbajimba, Guma Local Government Area reportedly claimed over 50 lives on both sides.
The Nigerian Tribune learnt that the suspected herdsmen besieged the village as early as 6a.m. on Tuesday when the villagers were just getting out of bed.
“When we woke up at about 6a.m., we observed that the entire village had been surrounded by armed herdsmen. They were shooting at us as we scampered for safety. We do not know where they came from or what we have done to deserve the attack,” a resident said.
Confirming the incident, the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Dan Ezeala, said so far, seven corpses had been recovered and deposited at an undisclosed morgue.
He added that police officers had been drafted to the area to restore peace and order while investigation into the incident had commenced.
It will be recalled that the state deputy governor, Chief Steven Lawani, on Monday, disclosed that the Nigeria Air Force surveillance team has revealed that the attackers in the state come from Borno State.
Meanwhile, no fewer than 15 persons were, on Tuesday morning, killed while five others sustained different degrees of injury in a fresh attack by unknown gunmen in Giza, Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Investigation by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the gunmen, who were armed with sophisticated weapons, invaded the community around six in the morning and started shooting sporadically. The gunmen also destroyed property worth millions of naira, including the palace of the paramount ruler of Giza Chiefdom, Alhaji Umaru Elegu Abu ll.
According to one of the victims, who did not want his name in print, “the gunmen invaded the community in the early hours of today (yesterday), killing everybody on sight. They were also chanting war songs.
“They came and killed several people. As I speak with you, we have been able to recover nine corpses from a nearby bush, apart from the corpses we saw in the community. We are still searching the surroundings, and those corpses have been taken for burial, while injured ones were taken to undisclosed hospitals,” he added.
Confirming the attack to the Nigerian Tribune on phone in Lafia, the state capital, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Numan Umaru Ismaila, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) said only five people were killed during the attack.
According to him, on getting the report, a combined team of conventional and mobile policemen led by Divisional Police Officer (DPO), DSP Ikojo Sunday, mobilised to the scene and repelled the attack, adding that the information available to the police indicates that three inhabitants and two attackers were killed during the attack.
He noted that the command had deployed adequate personnel to the trouble area to restore normalcy, while investigation was ongoing.
TRIBUNE
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