Again, suspected armed herders attack Benue community, kill one, injure others

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

Suspected armed herdsmen have reportedly attacked Ikobi community in the Apa Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue State, killing one, Anyebe Shaibu, also known as Ochodo, and leaving some others injured.

It was gathered that the marauders stormed the community Friday afternoon and met the deceased on his farm, where they killed him and mutilated his remains.

According to a source in the area, who preferred anonymity, the victims were in their farms and preparing their farmland for cropping when the invaders attacked them.

He said, ‘Several persons were on the farm at the time of the attack, but most of them were lucky to have escaped unhurt, but they killed Ochodo and injured some others.’

“The manner they killed the young is so painful. They murdered him and mutilated his body with their knives as if he were an animal.

“His sin was that he went to farm in his ancestral home. They just don’t want our people to farm on their land, and we cannot understand why they want to chase us out of our land, and the government is doing nothing about it.

“The situation is getting so bad that our people are now afraid of going to their farms, and what that means is that we may be facing starvation because if we do not farm, how can we feed our families?”

“We urged the federal and state governments to live up to their constitutional responsibilities by providing security for the lives and properties of the people, which is the essence of government in the first place. If they cannot do that, we advise they quit. Our government cannot remain insensitive to the plight of the people and still remain in office,” he added.

Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, were unsuccessful.