Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Sixteen people have been killed, with several others injured, by suspected Fulani herdsmen, in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.
A native of Agatu, John Ikwulono, told Daily Sun that the attackers invaded Ebete, under Usha Ward in Agatu, in the early hours of Wednesday, February 20 and started shooting sporadically.
Ikwulono said the unprovoked attack on Agatu people started at exactly 1:00am, when people were deeply asleep and, after the dust settled, 16 dead bodies of locals were discovered.
He explained further that a family member of some the deceased victims, Daddy Seni, whose father was also killed, alongside his siblings, told him that he left his father at Ebete while heading to Aloko for fishing when he received a call from his father who asked him to turn back.
“Daddy Seni told me that his father informed him that he had been shot by Fulani herdsmen and on reaching where his father was lying down, in the pool of his blood, about giving up.
“He said when he sighted his father and was about taking him to hospital, he heard his father said; ‘my son, don’t bother about me and your siblings again, ours have finished, we can’t survive this gunshots, run for your dear life to tell others about this,’ then, he gave up.”
Ikwulono disclosed that the acting Chairman of Agatu, Alhaji Oyigocho, hasalready been briefed about the matter and that he had rushed to Ebete, with some Council members, alongside security men, for an on-the-spot-assessment of the attack. He said three Jukun hunters were among those that were murdered by the suspected herdsmen and that two of them didn’t die immediately but were rushed to a nearby hospital where they later died.
Confirming the killings, Oyigocho described the attack as condemnable and wondered why this should be happening at a time Nigerians are preparing to elect new leaders.
Oyigocho said his people have never taken laws into their hands; despite provocations from herdsmen whom he said have taken over farmlands in most parts of Agatuland, which he spoke about, recently, on the radio, even as he appealed to the government to quickly come to their aid.
Meanwhile, Force Commander of the military Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), Major General Adeyemi Yekini, also confirmed the killings but was unable to confirm the number of casualties, as at yesterday afternoon.
Yekini, in a statement, disclosed that although his troops are not in the Agatu general area, he dispatched a patrol team to the scene; to verify what actually led to the killings.
“I received a report this afternoon (yesterday afternoon), that some people were killed in Agatu, by suspected armed bandits. I’m not sure of the number of casualty yet but I don’t think it’s up to 16. We have sent a patrol team to the general area where the incident happened.
“The location where it happened, although it is in Benue, can better be accessed through Loko, in Nasarawa State.
“We have already sending a patrol team there; to verify what really happened,” Yekini stated.
In his reaction, Governor Samuel Orton strongly condemned the invasion and killings .
He described the act as as barbaric.
The governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, said the attack was unfortunate and confirmation of an earlier alarm he raised that some persons, for political reasons, are planning to unleash armed herdsmen on innocent Benue people, to create fear in the people for political gains.
“This is quite unfortunate and is condemnable. The government of Benue state condemns this and urges security agencies to immediately move in to forestall further attacks on innocent people of Benue state.
“This is because we can’t afford to have another round of killings that we had in 2018,” he said.