Thirty-three people are feared dead following coordinated attacks by suspected herdsmen in Gwer West and Apa Local Government Areas of Benue State. Many residents remain missing as the affected communities started conducting headcounts on Monday morning.
The violence began around 7 p.m. on Sunday when suspected herdsmen attacked Tse-Antswam in Naka town, the headquarters of Gwer West LGA, resulting in the death of 17 individuals, while others escaped to safety.
A community leader, Patrick Modoom, confirmed the casualty figures to Channels Television via telephone. “Seventeen corpses have so far been recovered at Tse-Antswam, a community by the LGEA primary school Naka, close to the Federal Government Dam project,” he said.
Modoom added that “many people are still missing as headcount is being carried out, with many others displaced into the primary school where police personnel from the town and vigilantes are providing security”.
“This attack happened not too far from the military checkpoint from Naka town but not a single response from the military when we raised alarm about the attack, leaving our people vulnerable while the attack lasted,” he added.
Gwer West LGA consists of 15 political council wards, with 14 having been affected by herdsmen attacks. Naka town, previously seen as a safe refuge for residents, had its security compromised by last night’s assault at the local government headquarters.
Meanwhile, 16 people were killed in the Edikwu and Ankpali communities of the neighboring Apa LGA, with many more still unaccounted for.
Abu Umoru, the lawmaker representing Apa State Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, confirmed that while 16 deaths have been confirmed, numerous individuals remain missing.
Just the previous Saturday, 14 female traders returning from a market in Enugu State were kidnapped along Owukpa road in a Benue Link bus, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
The state police have yet to issue a statement regarding the recent attacks.