No fewer than 47 persons including nursing mothers and children have been feared killed in renewed violence that broke out between Fulani herdsmen and Agatu farmers in Benue State on Sunday.
The suspected Fulani herdsmen were said to have launched an attack on them at Ekwo Okpachenyi council area while at a burial site.
According to eyewitnesses, people from the village were said to be at a burial site of one of the slain police officers in Nasarawa State, who hailed from the village, when the herdsmen launched the attack.
The liaison officer to Governor Suswam, Chief German Adobunu, who confirmed the report, expressed shock at the unprovoked attack at Ekwo-Okpanchenyi, adding that the suspected herdsmen struck immediately after the burial.
He said the herdsmen destroyed most of the houses at Ekwo-Okpanchenyi, forcing many of the residents to become displaced, leaving for Apa and Otukpo local government areas, as well as other parts of Kogi State.
Similarly, the state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr John Ngbede, who is an indigene of Agatu, described the attack as “an attempt to eliminate the people of the area,” stating that the attack came without any provocation.
In a swift reaction, the secretary of Miyetti Allah Cattle Rearers Association in Benue State, Garus Gololo, said the herdsmen attacked the Agatu people in order to recover their cows, numbered about 550, which he alleged were hijacked by the Agatu people.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ezeala, when contacted, said the police authorities were yet to confirm the number of casualties, adding that the command had deployed its men to the area.
Confirming the news on Monday, Governor Gabriel Suswam after an emergency meeting with security chiefs, described the attack on Agatu as wicked and callous, but he declined to give the actual figure of the casualty.
According to him, “the Fulani invasion on some parts of the state has continued unabated. Just Sunday evening, there was a fresh attack on people of Agatu. As a result of that, I have sent delegation to the place for an on-the-spot assessment. So I cannot say for now the number of people killed in the incident. Perhaps by tomorrow (today), we will be able to give the accurate things that happened there.
“But I can assure you that the security operatives are on top of the situation. As I am talking to you now, soldiers and mobile policemen have been drafted to the place to keep surveillance, so also other areas like Guma and other parts of Makurdi. If you notice you will discover that normalcy has returned to the area,” he said.
The governor promised that he would formally present the situation to the president, but assured that there was no cause for alarm.
Speaking with DailyPost on telephone, Chairman of the Agatu Youth Vanguard, James Ochoofu who condemned the act vowed that justice must be carried out.
“The battle line has been drawn, we won’t take it this time. The Fulanis cannot continue to slaughter our people like goats, meanwhile, our leaders just fold their arms. Enough is enough.” He added.
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