Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Gunmen suspected to be herders have killed four people in Tse-Angbande community of Makurdi Local Government Area in Benue state.
The fresh incident which left seven other persons severely injured happened at 11:14 pm on Friday night.
Among those killed is a head of a family, Timothy Emberga Akwa, his two sons, Innocent Akwa, Terhemba Emberga Akwa, and an in-law identified as Orban.
Wife of the deceased Terhemba Emberga, Veronica, sustained bullet wounds in her waist and foot in the process of running for safety with her infant.
She said they were already sleeping when suddenly the gunmen struck at her father-in-law’s compound and opened gunfire on everyone inside, causing them to scamper to safety.
A witness, Helen Waku, told our correspondent that as soon as gunshots rented the air in the community at exactly 11:14 pm, she ran with her five children and hid in the bush.
She explained that it was 5:00 am on Saturday when soldiers came and evacuated the dead to the mortuary after taken the injured to hospital earlier.
Waku added, “We were saved by God’s grace in the bush. The experience was the first in this community and not a pleasant one at all.”
Similarly, Felicia Terkur, narrated that she ran away that night with her six children to Adaka, a suburb close to Makurdi metropolis soon after her family realised that the attackers were suspected herders.
Terkur however said that the gunmen carted away her N7000, foam and other bedding items even as she expressed thanks to God that her husband fled unhurt.
Meanwhile, Governor Samuel Ortom alongside the state commissioner of Police, Mukaddas Garba, visited the scene of the attack on Saturday morning to ascertained the situation for themselves.
Ortom, while condemning the barbaric act, recalled that a few weeks ago the herders came without cattle and killed a husband and wife at Tse-Tyohemba in the same axis of Makurdi, as he stressed that security agents trailed and apprehended three of the assailants.
He assured the people that security has been beefed up to ensure 24 hours vigilance in the affected area to prevent a recurrence of the ugly development and urged people of the affected communities to cooperate with security operatives.
The governor while addressing the people at Adaka said enforcement of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of the state must continue no matter what armed herders do.
Ortom thereafter visited the injured in the hospital and assured them of his administration’s commitment to ensure the safety of all citizens.
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