Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen
have killed at least 10 people in two communities in Benue state.
The communities are Gbeji in Ukum
local government area and Tswarev district of Logo local government.
Fatai Owoseni, commissioner of
police in the state, confirmed the attacks, saying they happened on Tuesday
night.
Disclosing that some corpses had
been recovered, he said security personnel had been deployed to restore peace.
“There was an incident in Gbeji
and we are investigating. There was said to be an attack by suspected herdsmen
in the area but we can confirm that as at this morning (Wednesday), four dead
bodies were recovered there. We have stepped up security in the area and we are
investigating,” he said.
Witnesses said the attackers
destroyed houses and injured many people in the operation that lasted for
hours.
Richard Nyajo, chairman of Logo
LGA, appealed to security agencies to do more in safeguarding lives and property.
Bogal Àbuul, principal
secretary-general of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in
the state, who is from Ukum, said the suspected herdsmen
invaded the town with sophisticated weapons.
Àbuul said despite the presence
of security personnel, the attackers operated unchallenged.
Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue,
had asked the people to defend themselves with stones.
On Wednesday, President Muhammadu
Buhari said his government is working on solutions to the crisis between
herdsmen and farmers.
He said the problem worsened as a
result of the influx of Pro-Gaddafi fighters from the Sahel region.
He said solutions were being
sought for the herdsmen, farmers clashes.
“The problem is even older than
us. It has always been there, but now made worse by the influx of armed gunmen
from the Sahel region into different parts of the West African sub-region,” the
president had said.
“These gunmen were trained and
armed by Muammar Gadaffi of Libya. When he was killed, the gunmen escaped with
their arms. We encountered some of them fighting with Boko Haram.
“Herdsmen that we used to know
carried only sticks and maybe a cutlass to clear the way, but these ones now
carry sophisticated weapons. The problem is not religious, but sociological and
economic. But we are working on solutions.”
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