Six persons, including four armed herdsmen and two farmers, were confirm...
Six persons, including four armed herdsmen and two farmers, were confirmed dead in a bloody attack on Agasha community in Guma Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue state by suspected armed herdsmen.
Vanguard gathered that the herders had late Monday night stormed the community, shooting sporadically and scaring the people out of their beds.
One of the villagers said “They came around 11 pm when everybody had gone to bed, shooting sporadically. The sound of the gunshots woke the people from their sleep and everybody was fleeing from all directions.
“Unfortunate they caught up with two persons that they hacked to deaths while another sustained serious injury.”
“As we speak people are fleeing Agasha and women and children are trekking several kilometres in search of safe haven,” he added.
In an update on the attack, the Field Commander of the joint military spike operation in the state, Operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS, Maj. Gen. Adeyemi Yekini, who confirmed the attack in a statement said his troops repelled the attack.
Part of the statement read, “some suspected armed herdsmen infiltrated Agasha in Guma LGA of Benue State and killed 2 villagers overnight.
“Operation Whirl Stroke troops on patrol in the area immediately mobilised to the scene but the herdsmen had fled before their arrival.
“Troops subsequently tracked the assailants through some of the nearby communities overnight while other troops deployed at Tomatar across the river also in Guma LGA blocked the escape route towards Nasarawa State.
“At about 6 am troops had contact with the armed herdsmen at a makeshift camp close to the Benue River during which 4 of the assailants were killed, while troops recovered two AK 47 rifles, four magazines and 65 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition from the bandits.”
