9 killed in attacks on Benue villages

At least nine people have been reportedly killed by armed invaders in separate attacks on villages in two local government areas of Benue State.

Villagers said that the incidents happened on Friday and Thursday in two neigbouring LGAs of Apa and Agatu.

The villagers said that five persons were killed in Agatu while four were felled by the armed invaders in Apa.

A local, who preferred anonymity, said, “On March 1, 2024, the attackers killed one person in Edikwu Icho village after the attack on Ikobi. Also, same day, they killed two persons in Akpanta village of Apa LGA and killed one person in Ugbobi also in Apa LGA, making a total of four people killed.”

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Barrister Eche Akpoko, who is the Chairman of the Apa Development Association, said that the number of casualties could be more as there were missing persons.

Akpoko told our correspondent in Makurdi on Saturday that the attacks happened simultaneously about 11am on Friday, stressing that the exact figure of people killed could not yet be ascertained until search parties completed their findings.

Similarly, a traditional ruler in Agatu, Och’Adogoji, Chief James Edoh, confirmed that five persons were killed in his domain in an attack launched against Alokpa village at about 5pm on Thursday.

He said that the incident was promptly reported to all the security agencies operating in the area including the police.

A member representing Agatu constituency in the state House of Assembly, Godwin Edoh, also confirmed the killing of the five people, saying that the attack happened twice in Alokpa on Wednesday and Thursday.

Edoh said, “There were attacks between 28th and 29th February on Alokpa where five people were killed.

“There was an attack scare at Obagaji where women and children were running around after hearing gunshots from Alokpa, a neighbouring village but Obagaji was not attacked.”

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Catherine Anene, did not respond to our correspondent’s calls to her line in an attempt to get her comments on the incident.