Three people were killed in an attack by Fulani herdsmen on the Ikobi community in the Apa local government area of Benue State on Saturday, February 4, 2023.
Operation Whirl Stroke (OPW) personnel were sent to the area after the attack to stop further assaults. The military, according to neighborhood members, gallantly resisted the invaders.
The killer herders ambushed the OPWS troops in Mbappa, Gwer West local government of the state, but the troops were able to defeat the attackers despite the fact that three of the soldiers were hurt.
In separate attacks just last week, armed Fulani militants killed Superintendent of Police (SP), Mamud Abubakar, the Divisional Police Officer of the Gwer West local government area, along with two other policemen, two children, and three women.
The area has been under siege by killer herders for the past few days, and some analysts attribute the attacks to remarks made by the deposed Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, and 51 other people, who accused the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, of using livestock guards and the laws against open grazing and ranches establishment to drive Fulanis out of the state.
The President of the Tiv Youth Organization, Timothy Hembaor, discussed the tragic incident with journalists in Makurdi. He described the attack on the military personnel in Gwer West as senseless and barbaric and questioned why the herders would ambush security personnel whose job it is to maintain peace.
Hembaor urged the appropriate security authorities to quickly start an inquiry into Sanusi and the other Fulani elders whose recent comments, in his opinion, have encouraged the herders in Benue State to commit more atrocities.
“It is not by chance that armed Fulani’s are currently operating in Benue State. They must have been briefed by the senior citizens who just petitioned President Buhari to remove Governor Ortom. Performing an investigation will undoubtedly reveal the facts. In Benue, we are aware of who is attacking us.
Shande stated that “Sanusi and the others must be held accountable for the recent uptick in attacks against our people.
Three days ago, the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), a socio-cultural organization, raised the alarm that the deposed Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido, and 51 other people should be held responsible if anything untoward happened to the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, regarding the alleged killing of pastoralists in Nasarawa State.
Additionally, the group urged the Federal Government to take action to stop herdsmen attacks on defenseless farmers in Benue State and other Middle Belt regions.
Killer herders have attacked security personnel in Benue State on numerous occasions over the past few years, including the ambush on the military in Gwer West.
