No fewer than 26 people have been killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in an attack on three villages in Benue state in the last two days. According to Vanguard, the attacks which appeared well coordinated, occurred in Uzzar village in Buruku local government area, Anyii in Logo local government and Vase in Ukum local government Area in the state.
The herdsmen launched an attack on Uzzar and Anyii on Monday night June 20th, killing about 8 persons and razing down parts of the affected communities while another set of herdsmen attacked Vase community yesterday June 21st killing 12 people. A residents of the community who spoke on the incident said
“Vase was attacked at about 1am Tuesday where 12 persons including six relatives of a serving Permanent Secretary in the state were butchered in cold blood. The sequence of the attacks clearly showed that they were well coordinated and that is why the people could not put up any form of resistance. As we speak there is a huge influx of displaced persons of over 1,000 including women and children running away from their homes to Ugba, the headquaters of Logo same as Zaki Biam in Ukum, for safety. From the sustained attacks it is becoming clear that the herdsmen want to take over the affected communities close to River Benue because of the rich vegetation.”
Confirming the attacks, the state Police command’s spokesperson, Assistant Superintendent, ASP, Moses Yamu, gave a different number of casualties
“The Police have recovered four corpses from Vase, three from Anyii and one from Uzaar village. That is the number I can confirm to you.”
