Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on Saturday said suspected herdsmen killed four persons at Tse-Angbande, Makurdi, the State Capital, on Friday night. Ortom stated this at Tse-Angbande, when he visited the village for an on-the-spot assessment of the impact of the attack that also left seven persons injured.
He said the attack which took place at about 11 pm on Friday, led to the death of the head and some members of the Akwa family – Mr Emberga Akwa, Innocent Akwa, Terhemba Akwa and an in-law identified as Orban. Condemning the act, Ortom recalled that a few weeks ago, herders came without cattle and killed a husband and wife at Tse-Tyohemba, in the same axis of Makurdi, saying that security agents trailed and apprehended three of the assailants. He explained that seven persons were also injured and are at the Benue State Teaching Hospital (BUSTH), Makurdi, undergoing treatment.
The governor said the security operatives are doing their best, adding that his administration will restrategise to mitigate the new pattern of attacks on the people. According to him, the attackers who came without cattle, attacked the village, killed and injured some of them and ran away. “We will meet with security agencies as a government and see how we can restrategise on how we can handle this guerrella attacks on our people. “Let me said that this will not be allowed. These are poor people struggling to earn a living through farming.”
He assured the people that security has been beefed up to ensure 24 hours vigilance in the area to prevent a reoccurrence of the ugly development and urged people to cooperate with security operatives.
Ortom further commended President Mohammadu Buhari for directing security agencies to deal with all those behind insecurity in the country. Speaking to NAN, Patrick Ianna, 35, a villager, explained that it was after the shooting had subsided that they came back to discover dead bodies on the ground. He said the Community had no differences with herdsmen, adding that herders are not even staying within their Community. Also, Mrs Helen Waku, another villager, told newsmen that she and her husband ran and abandoned their five children during the attack, but were lucky to find them alive and unhurt after the attack. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the governor also visited the injured victims in the hospital and pledged to foot their bills and assist in the burial of the deceased.
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