Reports obtained revealed there was tension in Nagi, a community in the Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue state, during the weekend when the assailants opened fire on residents.
Aside from those killed, about seven others were reportedly injured in the attack. The residents said the terrorists were confronted by security operatives and later fled the community.
Those killed include three men and two women. The terrorists also reportedly touched down more than 50 houses, including the palace of the community’s traditional ruler.
The Special Adviser to Benue State Governor, Paul Hemba, has since confirmed the attack but alleged herdsmen perpetrated the crime.
Meanwhile, Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, had admonished residents of his state to acquire legal weapons to defend themselves from terrorists, bandits and invaders.
Samuel Ortom said this on Sunday during a Thanksgiving Mass in honour of the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Chief Ekpe Ogbu, who regained his freedom weeks ago after suspected terrorists kidnapped him.
Ogbu was said to have been kidnapped on December 4th, 2022, by suspected Fulani terrorists, a few kilometers away from his village, alongside his driver and two others.
Speaking at the thanksgiving held at St. Paul’s Catholic Parish, Utonkon, in the Ado local government area of the State, Governor Ortom confirmed that the kidnappers of the commissioner had been arrested.
He charged residents to wake up and wade off criminals amongst them.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain lamented the growing insecurity in the state under his administration, urging the people of Benue South senatorial district to be vigilant and on alert to security issues within their area.
Ortom said the sad development in the state called for a collective effort, emphasising that “the People of Zone C must stand up and support the Government to resist the invasion of our communities by Fulani herdsmen terrorists.
Everybody must be vigilant and acquire legal weapons prescribed by law to wade off the invaders,” he said.
Governor Ortom also stated that he would soon meet with the Idoma Area Traditional Council to review the security situation in the area to map out strategies to curtail the situation.
The leader stressed that he would not be forced to keep quiet while atrocities against the State’s people by Fulani terrorists continued. He further said that the society was too advanced for the crude approach deployed by the invaders, whose sole agenda was to take over Benue’s ancestral lands.
Ortom encouraged the people to sustain their support to security agencies posted to their area to enable them to perform their duties
The Governor stressed that the Community Volunteer Guards were to support community policing and urged the people to report any suspicious movement around their communities.
