Armed herders again attacked an Ondo community in the Ogboju District of Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, killing one person.
Chronicle NG gathered that the suspected armed herders were reported to have invaded the Ondo community on Tuesday morning, shooting sporadically, which forced the villagers to seek safety in Oyangede.
A resident of the Ondo community stated on Tuesday that the assailants stormed the community around 6 a.m.
Another resident, simply called Sunny, said, “The herdsmen stormed our community around 6 a.m. today and shot sporadically, which made people flee to the neighboring Oyangede community.
“But youths in the area mobilized themselves and went after the invaders. This prevented the assailants from wreaking havoc; nevertheless, one person was killed.”
The Otukpo Chairman, Maxwell Ogiri, who confirmed the herders’ attack in a telephone interview with journalists on Tuesday, said that one person was killed.
Ogiri said, “There is a crisis in Ondo, but it is not too much. It was repelled after the loss of an indigenous person.
“The combined security agencies are combing the forest in search of the bandits. The situation is calm. When they saw that security agencies were responding with immediate effect, there was a lot of calm.”
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the state command, DSP Udeme Edet, could not be reached for her reaction.
The incident in the Ondo community came two days after Sunday’s attack on Otukpo Nobi in Otukpo LGA, where locals said 16 people were killed.
However, Edet, in a statement, said that eight people were killed and five others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
