The number of people killed in the herdsmen attack on Benue State’s Ukum and Logo local government areas has increased to 20 as security personnel and locals search the impacted towns for survivors.
In a phone interview with Channels Television on Saturday, Hyacinth Alia, the governor of Benue State, provided information on the number of casualties.
He said that two additional corpses were subsequently found by residents looking for their loved ones after five had already been collected in Gbagir and transferred to the mortuary.
He said that security forces had given cover letters to a family in Gbagir who insisted on burying their relative right away so that they could carry out the quick funeral procedures.
The governor stated that the police retrieved 12 bodies while reacting to the simultaneous attacks in Logo. These bodies were also placed at a mortuary, increasing the number of people murdered in the alleged herdsmen’s coordinated attack in Sankera to 20.
The state administration reaffirmed its dedication to prosperity and life safety, promising Benue citizens that they will provide information to security authorities so that insecurity may be addressed quickly.
This comes after Benue State Police Public Relations Officer Sewuese Anene said in a statement on Friday that police had received reports that a sizable contingent of the suspected militia had infiltrated the state’s Sankera axis. The police then moved in to confront the militia in Gbagir, where they killed five more people.
The police statement reads, “Information was received that a large number of suspected militia had invaded the Sankera axis of Benue state to attack communities around Gbagir, Ukum Local Government Area. Upon receipt of this report, the Commissioner of Police, Benue State Police Command, CP. Steve H. Yabanet FCID, psc (+) ordered tactical teams to move to the area and join forces with police officers on the ground and other security agencies to forestall the attack.
“Following this order, a team of officers moved to the area and engaged them. While the attackers were being repelled in the early hours of today, they shot sporadically at unsuspecting farmers as they came across them. Five (5) persons were recovered at the Gbagir area and taken to the hospital, where they were confirmed dead.
“Unfortunately, an unsuspected simultaneous attack was carried out in Logo, where twelve (12) persons were killed before the arrival of the police, making a total of seventeen persons. However, Security agencies within the Sankera axis are still engaging the bandits as they retreat to the forest around the Taraba axis.
“The CP warns social media users who are reporting unconfirmed reports and inciting the general public to desist from such actions that are capable of creating unnecessary tension in the state. He reiterates his commitment to fighting the attackers and encourages the good people of Sankera to continue to cooperate with the police as the operation is ongoing.”
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At least three villages in the state’s Otukpo Local Government Area saw an increase in violent assaults by suspected herdsmen.
Emichi, Odudaje, and Okpamaju are among the communities impacted by the assaults; they are all located in Otukpo, where five people were slain in February. One day after eleven people were killed in Otobi Community, also in Otukpo LGA, the villages were attacked simultaneously.
