Fulani herders kill 30 in Benue

No fewer than 30 people were feared killed with many sustaining varying degrees of injuries in Logo local government of Benue state,

after suspected Fulani herdsmen in their large numbers sacked over 24 communities and villages in the area.

Some of the affected communities include Chembe, Tse-Mue, Tse-Shigbe, Mgbakpa and Oragbai all in Ukemberagya council ward which is four kilometers away from Anyiin, Governor Gabriel Suswam’s country home.

The crises, according to eyewitness started Sunday night after the marauders besieged the area, shooting sporadically and burning down houses, huts and farmlands in the affected communities.

Reports from villagers indicate that at the time of filing this report, more bodies were still being recovered in the affected areas after nine corpses were allegedly recovered reportedly at the scene of attack about one week ago.

Following the development, Governor Gabriel Suswam who also hails from the area had to pay an unscheduled visit to the affected communities yesterday even as it was observed that the communities have remained deserted following the massive destruction of houses, schools and worship centres by the Fulani herders.

It was gathered that villagers in the affected communities had to flee their homes to different direction for safety while the herdsmen have continued grazing hundreds of their cows in the vicinity.

Suswam, while addressing remnant of the people who came out from their hidings, told the people that he was in the area in company of all heads of security agencies in the state to see things for himself and to leave behind a combination of security forces to tackle the trouble makers, even as he assured them of his administration’s commitment to ensuring safety of lives and property.

Also speaking, the commissioner of Police, Hyacinth Dagala, Commanding Officer of 72 Special Forces battalion, Makurdi, Col. T. A Lagbaja and Deputy Director, State Security Service, Mr. Frank asvised the people not to take laws into their hands as they return back to their homes and allow the security operatives to do their job.

Daily Sun however observed that many of the affected people no longer have homes to return to as the fresh invasion on their land which is incidentally only four kilometres away from Suswam’s country home, Anyiin had destroyed everything they ever worked for including farm produce.