15 killed in renewed Benue community attack
No fewer than 15 people were reportedly killed in a renewed attack by gunmen suspected to be armed herders at Anyiin in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State.
The attackers were reported to have invaded the town on Wednesday around 6:32 pm killing people.
Several others were reported to have sustained varied degrees of injuries while many others were reported to have been missing as of the time of filing this report.
Anyiin is the country home of the former governor of the state, Gabriel Suswam.
A community leader, Joseph Anawah, who spoke to our correspondent on Thursday, said the suspected armed herders numbering over 20 and heavily armed carried out the operation that lasted three hours.
He said, “Fulani militia terrorists yesterday Wednesday, October 30, 2024 unleashed terror on Anyiin town Logo LGA of Benue State in an operation that started about 6:32 pm, leaving over 15 people dead and some with various degrees of injuries while others are missing.”
Among those murdered in the gruesome attack, according to the community leader, included a retired Primary School Supervisor, Orihundu Ati and son of the Kindred Head of Mbawuave, Zaki Mbatern.
Others, he listed, were the son of a former Chief of Staff to the former Logo Local Government Area chairman, Tordoo Suswam, and the son of Mr Uyange Chembe, the younger brother to the late District Head of Ukemberagya, Zaki John Chembe.
Anawah, a former aide to Suswam, said the large number of the invaders overwhelmed the security operatives stationed in the town.
While stating that Wednesday’s attack was the second in October, Anawah called on the state government to collaborate with the Federal Government to provide maximum security in the flashpoints.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Catherine Anene, said she had yet to receive the report of the incident.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security and External Affairs, Col. Alex Igbaya (retd.), confirmed the incident but declined to give a figure of the casualties.
He said, ‘Security people already deployed to the area. Military men are there.
