Suspected Armed Herders Kill 13 in Benue State Attacks

Gunmen believed to be armed herders killed 13 people in separate attacks on Benue State communities on Sunday.

According to local reports, 12 people were killed in Egwuma, Agatu Local Government Area (LGA), while one displaced person returning from a farm in Gwer West LGA was also killed. Additionally, one person was injured and five others are still missing.

Locals speaking to journalists on Monday described the assault on Egwuma as a brutal killing spree by the suspected armed herders.

Confirming the incident, Godwin Edoh, a lawmaker representing the Agatu state constituency in the House of Assembly, stated, “We are tired of this daily killing at Ogbumogbo, Ejima and all those areas down to Ikpele. Those villages have been deserted for close to one year. So, those places are like the Fulani colony. This one happened yesterday (Sunday) 12 people were killed.”

In response to claims by the governor that relative peace had returned and that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were returning home, Edoh refuted the statements, saying, “It’s a lie, they are talking nonsense. There is no peace anywhere. Even the IDPs they said have returned, if you go there you will see them there, so I don’t know why they use propaganda, it’s not correct.”

In a separate incident in Gwer West LGA, suspected armed herders reportedly attacked displaced persons returning from their farms, resulting in one fatality, one injury, and five missing individuals.

Jacob Terna, a former camp manager at the Agagbe IDP camp, provided details of the attack, stating, “Armed Fulani herders attacked and killed Mr Ikyumbu Aondowase, 30, while Mr Achin Terzungwe, 45, was badly injured and five others missing.”

The Police Public Relations Officer for the state command, Catherine Anene, confirmed the killings in Agatu but stated she was not aware of the incident in Gwer West LGA. “There was an attack in Agatu, about five persons were killed but in Gwer West am not aware of that,” Anene said.