Benue: Suspected armed herders kill four

Suspected armed herders have killed four people and injured several others in Abaashwa, a hamlet in Mbaasar, Nzorov Council Ward of Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

The attack occurred at about 11 p.m. on Monday and lasted for about an hour, according to Abraham Kyambe, a resident who shared details of the incident with journalists.

Mr Kyambe said the attackers killed four residents, identified as Emberga Akombu, Terver Pool, Emberga Tersoo and Pool Tersoo.

He added that James Agir, Bunde Pool, Akombu Jeremiah and another resident sustained injuries and were receiving treatment at the General Hospital in Gbajimba.

According to Mr Kyambe, residents believe the attack may have been linked to the recent arrest of an armed herder in the community. However, there is no official confirmation of such a connection.

He said residents had, about two weeks earlier, lodged a complaint with the police over alleged open grazing by armed herders in the area, claiming some of them carried rifles while grazing cattle and destroyed farmlands.

Mr Kyambe said the police later arrested one of the herders, allegedly found carrying a rifle while grazing cattle in the community.

He also alleged that injured victims faced delays in accessing medical attention because doctors at the General Hospital, Gbajimba, were on strike.

Residents called on the federal and Benue State governments to deploy more security personnel to the area and halt the recurring attacks on farming communities.

Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Benue State Police Command were unsuccessful. Calls placed to the Police Public Relations Officer, Peter Aondongu, were not answered as of the time of filing this report.

The latest attack comes amid continued violence across Benue State.

PREMIUM TIMES reported on 29 July that at least 15 people were killed after suspected armed herders attacked the Efeyi community in the Ugboju District of the Otukpo Local Government Area, barely a day after another attack claimed one life in nearby Ipom-Ugboju.

Earlier, on 27 July, suspected armed herders killed three people and injured two others in separate attacks on Elulu and Agadagba communities in Ohimini Local Government Area, two days after the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun’s successor, Olatunji Disu, visited Benue and pledged intensified security operations.

On 13 July, the police confirmed that eight people, comprising five adults and three children, were killed in attacks on Akpachi and Otukpo-Nobi communities in Otukpo Local Government Area.

The recent wave of attacks followed the 26 June killing of the Benue Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Risku Mohammed, and his associate, Yakubu Isah, who were ambushed while returning from a peace meeting in Ohimini.

Although security agencies have not linked the incidents, some residents have expressed fears that the attacks may be reprisals.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in Benue, Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), condemned the latest killings in Guma, describing them as “barbaric, heartbreaking and yet another painful reminder of the worsening security situation in Benue State.”

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In a statement issued on Tuesday by his media aide, James Ian, Mr Aondoakaa said recurring attacks had forced many farmers off their ancestral lands and threatened the state’s agricultural economy.

“Recurring attacks on Benue communities have created an atmosphere of fear, forcing many farmers away from their ancestral lands and threatening the state’s agricultural economy,” he said.

The PDP governorship candidate also expressed concern over reports that injured victims experienced delays in receiving medical treatment because of the ongoing strike by doctors in the state, urging the government to ensure emergency healthcare arrangements for victims of violent attacks.