Crime

Suspected herdsmen kill seven, open fire on commercial vehicle in Benue

Published

12 months ago

January 9, 2024

Gunmen suspected to be armed herders invaded communities in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State on Sunday, January 7, and killed seven people.

The gunmen were said to have launched an attack twice in the council area on Sunday, January 7, 2024.

They first attacked a commercial vehicle between Arufu and Chembe villages and shot at passengers.

It was gathered that the attackers later invaded the Mchia community in Gaamber-Tiev in the night and killed seven people.

Several others were reported to have been missing during the invasion.

A community leader, Anawah Joseph who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune on Monday said that the first attack was on a commercial vehicle between Arufu and Chembe villages.

“Armed Fulani herders in collaboration with Jukun militias on Sunday shot at a commercial vehicle heading to Iorza where some passengers suffered an injury. They also invaded Mchia where they slaughtered eight people,” he said.

Chairman of the local government, Rev Adagbe Jonathan, who confirmed the incident said that seven people were killed while several others were still missing.

“It’s true that armed herders in collaboration with Jukun militias attacked my people yesterday (Sunday) at about 9 pm,” Jonathan stated.

“With the help of policemen, we were able to recover five corpses Sunday night while two corpses were recovered this morning (Monday morning). They also shot at a commercial vehicle where two people were injured.

“As I am talking to you now, the two people who sustained injuries have been taken to hospital at Anyim but many people are still missing.”

Jonathan who said he was on his way to report the incident to the security adviser, Joseph Har, added that the attackers were armed herders hired by Jukun militias.