Again, suspected herders kill three mourners as troops rescue eight in Benue

Again, suspected herdsmen began their onslaught on Benue State communities as three mourners including a woman were killed on Saturday at Guma local government area of the state.

This is coming barely 48 hours after five people were killed by suspected herders at Gwer West local government area of the state.

In the latest attack, the herdsmen were said to have laid ambush along Iordye-Gbanjimba road at about 5 pm on Saturday, February 19, 2022, and shot at the victims – two males and a female – who were on motorcycles while returning from a burial.

Guma which has been the worst hit of herdsmen attacks is ironically Governor Samuel Ortom’s local government.

It was gathered that two died on the spot from gunshot wounds while the other was brutally macheted to death.

Confirming the incident, the media aide to the state governor, Nathaniel Ikyur, said that soldiers attached to Operation Whirl Stroke recovered the bodies and deposited the corpses at Gbajimba general hospital.

“Sadly, this has been the plight of Benue indigenes in the hands of herdsmen who have invaded the state in a bid to take over our ancestral lands,” he lamented.

Efforts to get the State Command to confirm the killing were unsuccessful as the Police Public Relations Officer’s, Catherine Anene number was switched off at the time of filing this report.

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In a related development, soldiers of Operation Whirl Stroke have rescued eight people kidnapped by suspected herders at Agasha in Guma local government area of the state.

The victims were reportedly kidnapped last Wednesday while on their farm but were rescued by soldiers three days after.

It was gathered that among the victims were six females and two males and they include Philip Akpage, 56yr-old, Aondokula Ijah, 30; Mrs Kwadoo Takada, 60; Mrs Kwakuma Asongu, 55; Mrs Agnes Ornguze, 54; Mrs Yanguchan Tiv, 45; Mrs Kwadoo Mtomga, 45 and Mrs Mnembe Terlumum, 30.

Ikyur who also confirmed the rescue of the victims said that the OPWS troops made contact with the kidnappers at Gbekyor but that the troops overpowered them.

According to the statement, Ortom’s media aide said that the victims were abducted from their farms on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, explaining that they were however rescued by OPWS troops on Saturday and have since been reunited with their families.

“As the fight against criminality intensifies in Benue State, troops from Operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS, Saturday, February 19th, 2022 made a huge breakthrough when they rescued 8 persons from kidnappers den.

“They had spent over three days with their abductors before their rescue,” Ikyur said.

However, a military source from OPWS who did not want to be mentioned confirmed the rescue of the kidnap victims.

He maintained that troops had rescued several kidnapped victims in Benue in the last few weeks with the latest being the rescue of eight victims in the Agasha area of Guma LGA on Wednesday, February 16, 2022.