No fewer than fifty persons have been reportedly killed by herdsmen in various communities of Logo Local Government Area of Benue State in the last one month.
A report by National Accord said that the affected communities of the local government included Ayilamo, Azege and Anyebe in Tombo council ward, Anyiin in Mbakper council ward and Chembe and Iorja in Ukemeragya/ Tswarev council ward.
The report indicated that the attacks on these communities had a long history as the communities started finding it rough since the beginning of the crisis over ten years ago.
In all these years, these communities, among others, have continued to lose loved ones to the herdsmen who normally come to these communities unannounced and without any provocation.
But in the last one month, over fifty members of these communities from Logo local government were reportedly killed by the trigger-happy herders.
It was gathered that before the last Sunday attack on Azege, when about twenty residents of the Azege town were killed, the herders had attacked several other communities.
Our checks showed that the attack was a coordinated one as the attackers came in the night and carefully blocked all the escape routes before they launched their attack, killing about twenty residents of the area.
It was learnt that even before the attack on Azege, the herders had attacked all the neighbouring communities of Azege town before descending heavily on the town.
Ayilamo, a settlement in Tombo council ward, had a bitter experience roughly two weeks ago when the armed herdsmen attacked the settlement, and about twenty residents were allegedly killed.
In Anyebe settlement, too, a man from the area, Uja Emmanuel, had confirmed that they lost their loved ones to the attackers –more than ten within few days.
Uja, who felt concerned, had to procure relief materials worth hundreds of thousands of naira for the people to cushion the effects of their suffering.
A visit to Chembe and Iorja of Ukemberagya/ Tswarev council ward also disclosed that the residents were counting their losses following the recent attacks by the herdsmen.
Checks have also shown that in some of these communities, herdsmen have occupied the houses of the villagers even as they have claimed ownership of these houses.
As regards Sunday’s killing in Azege town where about twenty residents were allegedly killed, the spokesperson of the Benue State Police Command, Sewuese Catherine Anene, however, said four persons were killed during the attack.
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
