Again, bandits kill seven in Benue

Bandits have killed seven people at Yongia Uambie Tiev in Ukembrergya/Tswarev ward in the Logo Local Government Area of Benue State.

The incident, according to a community leader, Anawah Joseph, happened between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Anawah stated that the attackers who were armed with sophisticated weapons came in their numbers to attack the community.

He said, “The Tuesday attack started around 4 pm and lasted till 8 pm. Then, on Wednesday, they resumed again, I don’t think they came to graze but to attack.”

He stated that several people were killed in the attack.

Confirming the attack, the Chairman of the local government, Rev Adagbe Jonathan, said that seven people were killed in the two days of the attack.

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, Special Adviser, Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and to the Permanent Secretary on Bureau of Internal Services.”

The lawmaker representing Apa State constituency in the state Assembly, Abu Umoru, on Thursday, had lamented the incessant attacks on his constituency, saying he had lost count of casualties of the attacks.

The lawmaker listed nine communities that have been desolate as a result of bandits’ attacks in Apa LGA of the state.

He said, “The entire Edikpo Community had been displaced, Opaha where I come from, nobody in is 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 persons daily. Right now, I don’t know the number of casualties. There are so many.”

Efforts to get the response of the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Catherine Anene, were not successful as she did not pick up her call and did not respond to the text message sent to her cellphone.