Armed herders kill commanding officer, 15 others in Benue

In a fresh assault on communities in Edikwu 2 Council Ward of Apa Local Government Area of Benue State, suspected armed Fulani herdsmen killed an officer, a soldier, and 15 other people.

According to information obtained, among the localities under siege by the marauders are Odogbo and Opaha, the residences of Mr. Abu Umoro, a state assemblyman who represents Apa State Constituency, and Mr. David Olofu, the state's commissioner of finance.

The attack comes just after the weekend's assault on the Ankpali community in the same Edikwu Ward 2, where Mr. Nathaniel Ochoche, the Labour Party's Ward Chairman, and three other people were killed in a herdsmen ambush.

Apparently, the herders who rushed the communities on Tuesday at about 6 o'clock in what appeared to be a coordinated attack also caused severe injuries to several of the victims, according to an area native who went by the name Kole.

The source disclosed that “Among the 17 corpses so far recovered this morning (yesterday) from the attacked communities were the remains of two military personnel and one of them was the Commander of the troops that went to confront the armed Fulani herdsmen when the attack was going on.”

When reached, Mr. Eche Akpoko, the chairman of the Apa Development Association, confirmed the attack and stated that he was still awaiting word from the besieged towns even though 10 dead, including those of two military soldiers, had already been retrieved.

The Opaha-born State Commissioner of Finance, Mr. Olofu, also acknowledged the incident and emphasized that 15 villagers' and two soldiers' deaths had been found.

The commissioner said that he was en route to the village to get a firsthand account of the local development.

When reached, the OPWS, Fl. Lt. DO Oquah, a spokesperson for the military joint operation in the state known as Operation Whirl Stroke, responded that he was unavailable to comment because he was out of town.

Telephone contact was also impossible with the OPWS Sector Commander in charge of Apa LGA.

In the meantime, Superintendent, SP, Catherine Anene, the police public relations officer who confirmed the repeated attacks, said she had not yet been given any further information.

Source