At least 16 persons have been killed and dozens wounded in an attacked ay Efeyi Ugboju community in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State in the early hours of Tuesday, by armed men suspected to be marauding herdsmen.
BusinessDay gathered that the the attackers invaded the community around 5:00am on Tuesday July 28 in an attacked that lasted till about 9:00am shooting sporadically at villagers scrambling for help killing 16 on the spot while several others are still missing scores sustain varying degrees of injuries.
Some of the locals who spoke to Business Day on phone including Inalegwu Oche, Adanu Oglewu both lamented that despite early distress calls, no security operatives came to their rescue til the attackers retreated on their on after four hours.
They said, corpses were still being recovered from the surrounding bushes by youths who are combining the bushes in search of their loved ones.
“We are helpless and vulnerable Inalegwu a community member said. “We reported early enough but four hours later, Army and Police stationed at Ugboju Ogobia were nowhere to be found.”
Maxwell Ogiri, chairman of Otukpo LGA, in a telephone interview said he can not confirm the number of casualties toll as of press time, but said he was at the Otukpo Teaching Hospital, receiving the wounded victims evacuated from a local clinic.
He confirmed that the attackers were herdsmen, saying, “It’s still the same Fulani militia that came to attack our people in their sleep without provocation,” Ogiri told BusinessDay. “They have been attacking from one community to the other in recent days” he added.
According to the chairman, similar attacks were recorded in other villages on Sunday and Monday. “They choose locations to attack at will,” he said.
When asked about security response, Ogiri said, “We have a great number of security operatives in Otukpo right now, but I am not the one to decide their operations. Mine is to give them a comfortable place to stay and other logistics.”
The latest attack raised questions about the growing wave of attacks across Benue communities in the last Two month, with security personnel deployment in the area seems to be overwhelmed.
Confirming the attack, Udeme Edet, the Benue Police Public Relations Officer, in a statement said, the command is aware of the attack that occurred in a community during the early hours of Tuesday. However she could not give details about the casualty.
According to her, “Police Officers have been deployed to the scene, they are taking necessary steps to restore calm and commence a thorough investigation into the incident”
She said, the situation is being closely monitored, further details will be made available as the investigation progresses and facts are established” Edet added.
