What appeared to be a major massacre took place on
Sunday in Ukura, Gafa, Per and Tse-Gusa in Ukemgbiraghia
Twarev Ward, Logo Local Government Area of Benue State
when over 100 persons were killed by suspected Fulani
herdsmen.
According to a resident of one of the communities, the
suspected Fulani herders dressed in military uniforms,
attacked the communities with sophisticated weapons,
shooting anyone on sight including women and children.
“At the moment, a mass burial is taking place for the over
100 victims whose bodies have so far been recovered, most
of whom were women, children and the elderly, because
they are decomposing already.
“As we speak, a search for more bodies is still ongoing in
the area because so many persons are still missing and
unaccounted for,” he said.
Some of the communities attacked were host to internally
displaced persons (IDPs) from previous attacks by the
herdsmen, in the hometown of the state Governor, Gabriel
Suswam.
Speaking with journalists, the Senior Special Assistant to
Suswam on Media Affairs, Mr. Joseph Anawa, who hails
from Logo, said: “Indeed over 100 people were killed last
Sunday morning when heavily armed suspected Fulani
herdsmen, some of whom were dressed in military uniform,
stormed the communities from Kente in neighbouring
Taraba State.
The incident drew condemnation from the paramount ruler
of the area, Tor Sankera, Chief Terkura Suswam, who
described the attacks as unfortunate.
He said he was collaborating with other traditional rulers in
the area and the Fulani herdsmen with a view to finding
lasting solutions to the problem.
The Benue State Police Commissioner, Hyacinth Dagala,
said four persons were confirmed killed and that some
people were speculating that over 20 to 25 persons were
killed.
Dagala who appealed for calm, said a detachment of
policemen had been dispatched to Logo local government
area to maintain peace adding further that calm had
returned to affected
No comments:
Post a Comment