Two killed as herders attack Benue community

Suspected armed herders attacked the Okpafie community in Okonobo Ward, Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State early Thursday. They killed two people and stole cows during the raid.

A local source told reporters by phone that the herders struck the Okpafie community, killing two people, one of whom was a vigilante. They also made off with 40 cows.

The local government chairman, Adah Inalegwu, confirmed the attack by phone on Thursday. He said the armed herders invaded the community around 1am.

He explained, “There were about 12 of them, all heavily armed with AK-47 rifles. The owner of the cattle was asleep when they attacked because they had tried several times before and he had fought them off.

“But this time, they neutralized the cattle owner first, then gained access and took the cows. When they took the cows, our locals got some calls and contacted the vigilantes for help.

“Along the way, the vigilantes engaged them in a gunfight around the Okpoga, Ai-Dogodo area. During the fight, two people were shot, and one of them died from a gunshot wound.”

The council chairman stated that security forces were still in the bush chasing the attackers when he spoke to reporters.

Inalegwu pointed out that the community had experienced a similar attack before. He promised that the council would set up a standby force in the area to prevent future attacks.

“If we had a standby force yesterday, we could have stopped these rustlers. We are putting plans in place to make sure this does not happen again.

“We will have a standby force, and this will not happen again,” the chairman said.

According to Inalegwu, three suspected armed herders arrested before are still at the State CID. He believes the attackers likely came from Ezza-Igbo in Ebonyi State.

He added, “These people usually pass through the boundary between Ado, Okpokwu, and Ebonyi State. They are in a community called Ezza-Igbo. Our tracking shows they are in Ezza-Igbo in Ebonyi State.”

Attempts to reach the spokesperson for the State Command, DSP Udeme Edet, were unsuccessful as her phone rang out.

This latest attack in Okpokwu LGA happened just a day after suspected bandits attacked Sai community in Mbajir Ward, Katsina Ala Local Government Area, killing several people.