Herders attack leaves three dead in Benue

At least three people have died and two others are hurt in fresh attacks by suspected armed herders in Elulu and Agadagba communities in Ohimini Local Government Area of Benue State.

Reports say the attacks happened separately between Friday and Saturday night when the armed herders invaded the communities.

A resident of Agadagba, who only gave his name as Ameh, spoke to journalists on Sunday. He said the attackers came to the village on Saturday night after hitting Elulu community on Friday.

Ameh said, “The Fulani herdsmen attacked our community (Agadagba) yesterday night and attempted to rustle cows. In the process, some youths repelled them.

“But some of the attackers, who were well armed, shot at the youths and two of them died. It was later we learnt that the same Fulani herdsmen had, a day earlier, invaded Elulu village where they killed one person.”

On Sunday, the Chairman of Ohimini Local Government Area, Gabriel Adole, confirmed the two incidents over the phone.

According to him, the attackers hit Elulu and Agadagba communities between Friday and Saturday night.

Adole said, “It is not only in Agadagba community that the armed herders killed people. They first attacked Elulu village a day before yesterday (Friday), killed somebody, attacked another person and collected his Bajaj motorcycle.

“They also went to Agadagba village that same day to rustle cows, but the people repelled them. So, they shot one person in the leg. They could not rustle the cows. Yesterday, being Saturday, they went there again and killed two persons in Agadagba.”

He added, “As I am talking to you, I am preparing to go to the communities to commiserate with them. So far, three lives were lost in the attacks. They injured two persons, the one whose motorcycle they took and the one they attacked while attempting to rustle his cows. Both of them are still in hospital receiving treatment.”

The chairman mentioned that local security personnel, along with the police, have been sent to the affected communities to stop further attacks.

He also said normalcy is slowly returning to the affected areas because of the presence of security personnel.

Ohimini Local Government Area has seen repeated attacks in recent weeks. Some residents link this to the killing of the Benue State Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Risku Mohammed, on June 24, 2026.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, DSP Udeme Edet, could not be reached for comment. Calls to her phone were not answered.