April 06, (THEWILL) – Suspected Fulani herdsmen, on Tuesday, launched another attack on Umogidi, Entekpa Adoka district of the Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, killing 46 people with several others injured, while many are still missing.
The attack came a day after the armed herders killed three people at Igbobi in Apa Local Government Area of the state.
The Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, Bako Eje, who lost his biological son in the attack, said the killer herders have been terrorising the people of the area for over a month.
Eje said, “For over a month now, they have been terrorising our people in that axis, from Igili to Umuogidi across Enetekpa ward”, he stated.
Among those killed in Otukpo was a man and his daughter in their shop, while the others were murdered in their homes.
Eye-witnesses told reporters that the herders invaded the community in the evening of Tuesday and shot sporadically, forcing people to flee, while those hacked to death were not fortunate to escape.
When contacted, the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene, confirmed the attack but would not provide details of the sad incident.
He said, details will be made available in due course and call for calm as officers have been deployed to the affected communities to maintain law and order.
