Suspected herdsmen have struck again in Enugu State early morning yesterday, barely four months after they attacked the Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of the state.

This time, a seminarian of the Catholic faith, identified as Lazarus Nwafor was killed, while four other members of a family sustained severe injury when suspected herdsmen attacked the Ndiagu Attakwu community, in Nkanu West council of the state.

Nwafor, who returned to the community on Wednesday from his apostolic work hailed from Imo State, and lived as a tenant in a compound belonging to Ogbodo Nwarum before he met his untimely death in the hands of Fulani herdsmen.

The entire family of Ogbodo Nwarum, including his pregnant wife, their aged mother, their daughter and himself received several machete cuts from the marauding herdsmen.

The victims were said to have been attacked at about 2.00am yesterday when the herdsmen whose number could not be ascertained invaded their home.

The Fulani herdsmen were said to have opened the ceiling of the building of their victims and gained access into their living apartments.

While the seminarian was not lucky as he died before receiving any form of medical treatment in the hospital, the other members of the Obgodo Nwarum family are now receiving treatment at the Mother of Christ Specialist Hospital, Ogui, Enugu.

The state Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who rushed to the community early yesterday morning, expressed shock over the attack, and promised that the state security apparatus would set into motion to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act.

He stated that he had on receiving news of the attack summoned an emergency security council meeting to determine the next level of action, urging the residents to maintain peace in the community.

It was alleged that the herdsmen invaded the Ogbodo Nwarum family following a treatment meted to their cows by the pregnant wife, who was said to have sounded the metal gong that drove away the cows on Wednesday afternoon in their compound.

Police was yet to make any arrest as at the time of filing this report, even as security has been beefed up in the community.

Reacting to the incident, the Enugu State police command confirmed the early morning attack of Ndiagu Attakwu community in Nkanu West Local Government Area, yesterday, by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

It said the incident left one person dead, while four people sustained various degrees of injuries.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Emmanuel Ojukwu, who was in the area for a spot assessment, urged members of the community to be calm just as he sympathised with the family of the victims.

“I want to sympathize with the entire community over the alleged incident of attack by suspected herdsmen in the early hours of today (Thursday), which left one person dead and four others critically injured.

Ojukwu, also enjoined the people not to panic “as the state command in partnership with the relevant stake holders and the state government have stepped into the incident.

“Security made up of personnel of Anti-Riot police men, Counter-Terrorism Unit as well as operatives of the homicide section of the State Criminal and Investigation Department, Enugu have been deployed to the area to ward off any breakdown of law and order”, he stated.

The commissioner equally visited the injured persons at both Mother of Christ, and Parklane Hospitals, Enugu.

He said full scale investigations into the incident have begun.