No fewer than seven people have been killed by bandits in Yongia Uambie Tiev, Ukembrergya/Tswarev ward, Logo Local Government Area of Benue State.
Anawah Joseph, a community leader, said the incident occurred between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Anawah claimed that the bandits, who were armed with modern weaponry, came in large numbers to attack the village.
He said, “The Tuesday attack started around 4 p.m. and lasted till 8 p.m. Then, on Wednesday, they resumed again. I don’t think they came to graze but to attack.”
He said that several people were killed in the attack.
Rev. Adagbe Jonathan, chairman of the local government, confirmed the attack and stated that seven individuals were killed over the course of two days.
He said, “It happened on Tuesday and Wednesday with seven casualties.
“On Tuesday, two were killed, and Wednesday evening, five were killed in Yongia Ukambie Tiev, Ukembrergya/Tswarev ward.
“The attacks were carried out by the herdsmen. Even when I went there on an assessment tour, they were still grazing on the other side of the road, claiming that the area was part of Taraba State.
“No one could just approach them. I’m even now in Makurdi. I reported to the Special Adviser on Internal Affairs and Security, the Special Adviser, the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and the Permanent Secretary of the Bureau of Internal Services.”
On Thursday, Abu Umoru, the member for Apa State constituency in the state assembly, decried the repeated attacks on his constituency, saying he had lost count of the casualties.
The lawmaker cited nine settlements in the state’s Apa LGA that had been left desolate as a result of bandits raid.
He said, “The entire Edikpo Community had been displaced; Opaha, where I come from, nobody is in that community; Odugbo, nobody is there; Akpete, Ikobi, Akpata, Idiaha, Ochumekwu, Adiga, nobody is in those communities.
“Every day, they burn houses in Akpete. As I speak to you, for three consecutive days, they have been going to Akpete and burning houses after chasing the dwellers out of their ancestral homes.
“They have been laying ambush, killing people—one, two, three, to five—daily. Right now, I don’t know the number of casualties. There are so many.”
Attempts to contact the state police public relations officer, SP Catherine Anene, were unsuccessful since she did not answer the phone or respond to a text message sent to her mobile.
