Fresh attacks claim 23 lives in Benue

Benue map

No fewer than 23 farmers and villagers were killed between Friday and Saturday in fresh attacks some communities in four Local Government Areas of Benue State.

The four local governments are, Logo, Kwande, Ukum and Guma.

Finding by Sunday PUNCH revealed that eight farmers were hacked to death early hours of Saturday at Jootar, a community in Ukum LG.

The victims, who had slept over in the area, were reportedly attacked while heading to their farms in the morning.

Speaking anonymously, a local source said, “The farmers were killed on their way to farm. But we cannot confirm whether the killers were armed herders or Jukun militia.”

Jootar, a border community between Taraba and Benue states, has been a flashpoint of conflict between the Tiv and Jukun ethnic groups.In another attack on Friday, suspected armed herders invaded Ayilamo community in Logo LG, killing nine people.

Sunday PUNCH also learnt that similar attacks in Kwande and Guma LGAs claimed three lives each, bringing the total number of casualties to 23.

Confirming the Jootar incident, the state Commissioner for Information, Mathew Abo, said, “The report I received is that eight farmers were killed in Jootar early Saturday morning on their way to the farm. The area is a border community between Tiv and Jukun, and there has been an ongoing crisis between the two groups. We cannot say for sure who was responsible.”

As of the time of filing this report, Abo said he could not confirm the other killings in Guma, Logo, and Kwande LGAs.

Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the state police command, Catherine Anene, were unsuccessful, as she did not respond to calls or text messages. Punch