SUSPECTED Fulani herdsmen numbering about
70 on Sunday slaughtered 95 people, mostly women and children in
Egba, Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.
A survivor, who gave his name simply as
Oche, said the herdmen arrived the village between 5am and 6am and
started attacking them in their houses.
Oche did not give the number of those
wounded but he claimed to have seen 80 dead bodies being evacuated by
security operatives and volunteers.
He said,“They came with arrows,
locally-made guns and knives when most of us were still asleep and
started killing us . It was a very bad day for us. I believe that those
killed are between 95 and 100 as I counted up to 80 bodies being taken
away by people in uniform.”
“Most
of those slaughtered were women, children and the aged. Almost all the
houses in the community were razed by the attackers.”
But the state Police Commissioner,
Hyacinth Dagala, who confirmed the attacks, said records before him
showed that 30 people had been confirmed dead .
He added that he had already directed the Area Commander to ensure that adequate security was provided in the area.
A lawmaker representing Apa/Agatu in the
state House of Assembly, Audu Sule, said that over 60 bodies were
evacuated from the village.
The lawmaker, who said the survivors were
now taking refuge in Obagaji/Ogbalu, the headquarters of Agatu LGA,
claimed that the herdsmen escaped to Nasarawa State after the attack.
The Benue State Peoples Democratic
Party deputy governorship candidate, John Ngbede, told The PUNCH on
the telephone that the Federal Government needed to station troops in
communities in the state prone to attacks by herdsmen.
A female lawyer and activist, Sonia
Ajoko, called on the state and federal governments to immediately send
relief materials to the survivors.
Ajoko said, “The loss is monumental going
by what we heard. Women and children and the elderly were killed. I
therefore call on governments at all levels to declare a day of
mourning and commiseration with the bereaved families.”
On February 11, 2015, about 30 people
were feared killed with many sustaining varying degrees of injuries in
the Logo LGA of Benue State, after suspected Fulani herdsmen sacked over
24 communities and villages in the area.
Some of the affected communities were
Chembe, Tse-Mue, Tse-Shigbe, Mgbakpa and Oragbai all in the Ukemberagya
council ward, which is four kilometers away from Anyiin, Governor
Gabriel Suswam’s country home.