Insecurity: Herdsmen kill 3 in Benue community

Suspected Fulani herdsmen on Saturday 4th February, 2023, reportedly attacked Ikobi community of Apa local government area of Benue State, killing three persons.

It was reported that following the attack, troops of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPW) were deployed to the area to restore normalcy.

However, the OPWS troops were reportedly ambushed by the killer herders in Mbappa, Gwer West local government of the state but the troops succeeded in overpowering the attackers even as three of the soldiers sustained injuries.

It would be recalled that only last week, armed Fulani militia killed the Divisional Police Officer of Gwer West local government area, Superintendent of Police (SP), Mamud Abubakar with two other policemen, two children and three women in separate attacks.

Meantime, the killer herders had laid siege on the area in the last couple of days, with some analysts linking the attacks to the utterances of the dethroned Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi and 51 others who accused the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom of using the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law with Livestock Guards to chase Fulanis out of the state.

Speaking to reporters in Makurdi on the sad incident, the President, Tiv Youth Organization, Timothy Hembaor described the attack on the military personnel in Gwer West as mindless and barbaric, wondering why the herders would ambush security men whose role is peacekeeping.