No fewer than 30 persons have been killed and many others injured as suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked Odugbeho village in Agatu Local Council of Benue State on Sunday.
Narrating the incident to newsmen yesterday, an indigene of the community, Isaac Oche, said the suspected herdsmen invaded their village around 5.45p.m. and started shooting sporadically and disappeared into the bush about 7.00 p.m. after killing many people.
Shortly after the attack, Oche said, 11 bodies were recovered and taken to the village centre, while nine others littered the roadside, but could not be evacuated immediately due to fear till yesterday.
“We cannot stay any longer to recover all the dead bodies that night because it was dark and there was no security. I believe more bodies will be recovered now that security operatives are drafted to the area,” he stated.
Confirming the attack, the Chairman of Agatu Local Council, Mr. Suleiman Adoyi, said, 27 bodies had been buried while the injured were taken to the hospital for treatment.
However, all efforts to get confirmation from the Benue State Command failed at the time of filing this report.
IN another development, the Emir of Yashikeira, Baruten Local Council of Kwara State, Dr. Umaru Usman, has said the borders between his community and Benin Republic are very porous and have become a hideout for criminal elements.
He said if nothing was done soon to man the borders properly, it might become another Sambisa forest. Usman said security men posted to the area had become revenue collectors from smugglers, urging the government do all it could to curtail activities of smugglers in the area.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja during the African Border Day themed ‘Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for building the Africa we Want’ organised by the National Boundary Commission (NBC), the monarch said the security situation in the area was so terrible that the forest around the borders were occupied by bandits, making it difficult for indigenes to do business. He called on the Federal Government to establish a proper military base to curtail activities of the criminal elements as a result of the porous borders.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Director-General of the NBC, Adamu Adaji, said it was imperative to develop an integrated border management approach that would holistically address national security challenges, to protect and defend the borders against external aggression
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