Nine individuals, including a police officer, have lost their lives in a fresh wave of violence allegedly carried out by suspected herders in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.
According to Channels Television, a source revealed that the assailants stormed “Okwutanobe, Okpokpolo, Olegagbani, and Ikpele”—border communities near Kogi State—launching attacks from the weekend through Tuesday.
He narrated, “The attacks started last Friday at Okwutanobe, where two people were killed, on Saturday, they attacked Okpokpolo and killed one person.
“Yesterday, Monday, the armed herders invaded Olegagbani, where they killed one person; today, the same armed herders attacked Ikpele, where they killed one police officer and four people. As we speak, people are fleeing their homes.”
The Chairman of Agatu LGA, Melvin Ejeh, verified the series of assaults.
“I can confirm to you that four people were killed in Okwitanobe, Okpokpolo, and Olegugbani while five people, including a police officer, were killed in Ikpele today,” Ejeh stated.
“We totally condemned these attacks, and I think it was a reprisal for their earlier report of cattle rustling in Agatu communities. We are appealing to them to give the government time to investigate the alleged rustling instead of taking the law into their hands,” he added.
While commending the efforts of security forces in attempting to curb the violence, the chairman highlighted how poor infrastructure was hampering their operations.
“You know the roads in Agatu are bad, even when the security men receive distress calls, it can take them up to four hours to navigate some areas due to the bad terrain. By then, the armed herders would have wreaked havoc and left.”
As of the time of this report, Udeme Edet, spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, had yet to confirm the incident but assured Channels Television that further information would be provided.