Gunmen on Tuesday night killed three people in a fresh attack on Naka town of Gwer West Local Government Area in Benue State.
Our correspondent reports that Naka, a rural commercial town and headquarters of Gwer West LGA had been a host to displaced people from villages in the locality.
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Witnesses said the latest attack on the town happened around 8 pm on Tuesday when residents suddenly began to scamper for safety following the sound of heavy gunshots around the Comprehensive College in Naka.
The residents alleged that the attackers who were dressed in military uniforms shot dead three people on the spot before they were repelled.
Chairman of Gwer West, Mrs Grace Igbabon, told journalists in Makurdi that the attackers were armed herders who rode on motorbikes to cause mayhem on residents.
Contacted, the state Chairman of Myetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), Mohammed Risku, said he wasn’t aware of the incident, stressing that he just concluded a meeting with the security adviser.
Meanwhile, the traditional head of the affected local government, Ter Nagi, Chief Daniel Abomtse, also told newsmen in Makurdi that three of his subjects were killed by the invaders.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Catherine Anene, who confirmed the incident, said: “On 29/03/2022 at about 2005hrs, armed men invaded Agabge-Naka road, Gwer-west LGA and started shooting sporadically. In the process, two persons were confirmed dead and their corpses were deposited at Fr. Mathias Morgue while an investigation is ongoing.
“Members of the public are advised to cooperate with detectives deployed to unravel the case.
“This barbaric act is condemned and unacceptable. The command in collaboration with other security agencies has adjusted the security architecture in the area to prevent future reoccurrence.”
Meanwhile, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on Wednesday expressed grief over the sustained invasion and killing of Benue people by suspected armed herders.
Ortom in a statement by his spokesman, Nathaniel Ikyur, noted that the activities of the armed intruders in Benue had led to scores hacked to death in unprovoked attacks in recent times.
He, therefore, called on Benue communities to rise up and defend themselves.
The governor said there were coordinated attacks on Guma, Kwande and Gwer West local government areas of the state on Tuesday, March 29th, 2022.
He stated further that a report from the team leader of security agencies in Kasekyo near Tse Torkula village in Guma local government indicated that suspected herders at about 9:30 am on Tuesday, March 29th, 2022 shot one Turner Ajar and an unidentified elderly man who were on a motorcycle going to the farm.
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