Armed intruders have struck again in Benue, one of the troubled states experiencing deadly attacks and destruction of properties in central Nigeria, killing 41 villagers in simultaneous assaults overnight, residents and officials have told our source.
Residents who informed our correspondent in separate exchanges between yesterday morning and afternoon said the killings occurred in two communities in Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas.
The residents also said the death toll may rise sharply in the coming hours, as more bodies are still being removed from nearby bushes.
The attacks come a day after 10 people were killed by gunmen said to be wearing military uniform.
“The first attack happened in TseHwer in Ukemberyge/Tsweray Council Ward in Logo Local Government around 6:30 p.m. to this morning,” said a senior state government official who did not want to be named, saying he had been warned by federal authorities for talking to the media in the past. “Some people are saying their families are missing, but we haven’t been able to confirm how many exactly.”
The victims were said to be two men and one woman.
When they arrived at about 6:00 p.m. in Jande-Ikyura in Ukum Local Government Area, the gunmen appeared determined to wipe out the entire community, said a resident of the area who said he had been to the village yesterday morning to witness the aftermath. Jande-Ikyura is a border community between Ukum LGA in Benue and Wukari Local Government Area in Taraba State.
“It was like they wanted to be sure that all the villagers were killed before they would run back to their hideouts,” said 48-year-old Isaac Ihiev. “They killed 22 people who were living there.”
MrIhiev said three of the attackers who were killed when some youth responded to the assault were found in military uniform.
“Three of them were killed and they dressed like soldiers when their bodies were moved out from the bush,” MrIhiev said, adding that he lives in a nearby village that falls under Wukari LGA in Taraba State.
He said efforts were underway to find the missing people. MrIhiev had mistakenly described Jande-Ikyura as being in Wukari LGA due to its proximity, but government officials have now clarified this confusion to our source.
A resident of ZakiBiam, seat of Ukum LGA, who arrived at the scene around 12:15 p.m. told our source the corpses have risen to 41 as at 2:09 p.m. yesterday, and still raised fears the number could unavoidably rise.
Our source could not independently verify the claims as at 2:49 p.m. yesterday, but they have a history of raising alarms about their ordeal that would later be corroborated by security agencies.
TerverAkase, a spokesperson for Governor Samuel Ortom, said he had heard of the killings and expressed sadness about the shocking death toll.
David Akinremi, the police commissioner in Taraba, and his Benue counterpart, FataiOwoseni, did not immediately return our correspondent requests for comments about the attacks early yesterday afternoon.
Emmanuel Bello, a spokesperson for Governor Darius Ishaku, said news of the killings had spread to Jalingo, Taraba State capital.
He, however, said he didn’t have all the details as yet. He said a military panel probing alleged complicity by soldiers in the ongoing killings has arrived the state and is sitting in Jalingo.
The killings come two weeks after the Nigerian Army ended ‘Exercise AyemAkpatuma’ and withdrew troops from the villages in Benue, Kogi and Taraba, despite pleas from residents that doing so would expose them to wanton killings by gunmen.
Although the Army denied withdrawing the troops, residents across three states insist there is no evidence to show that the exercise was extended as announced, and our source requests to the Army for the location of the troops participating in the exercise were rebuffed. The residents, including a local government chairman, told our correspondent the troops left their villages on March 31, exactly the same day the exercise was initially billed to end.
Meanwhile, bandits have attacked two villages in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara, killing some people.
The bandits attacked a mining site at Kuru-kuru village and also ambushed some people from the neighbouringJarkuka village as they mobilised to bring help to Kuru-kuru.
A witness, Sadi Musa, said scores of people were killed at the mining site on Wednesday evening which forced the miners to flee for safety.
Mr Musa said when residents from the nearby Jarkuka came later to join the Kuru-kuru survivors in burying the dead, the gunmen attacked again, and killed more people.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Mohammed Shehu said, “we are aware of the attack but I cannot give you details now until my commissioner is fully briefed’’.
Similarly, Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State yesterday threw his weight behind the recent statement by a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Theophilus Danjuma which accused the army of colluding with armed bandits and a called for self defense by citizens.
Ishaku disclosed this when he hosted the Probe Panel set up by the Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Tukur Buratai to investigate the recent allegation made against the Nigerian armed forces by the elder statesman.
“We in Taraba are fully behind what Danjuma said on self defence.
“As an ex army General with a high reputation, I think that call deserves to be looked into and not to be criticized because he spoke the minds of everyone in Taraba and indeed all Nigerians,” he said.
He described the coming of the committee as timely, assuring them of a conducive working environment to succeed in their assignment.
Ishaku explained that the frequent attacks by herdsmen led to the promulgation of the open grazing prohibition and ranches establishment law after consultations with stakeholders.
The governor decried the activities of soldiers in Taraba who, he noted, were going about mistreating citizens and disarming them of petty arms while ignoring those with lethal weapons.
He debunked the claim by the military that his government did not complain about all that was happening in the state.
According to him, he had visited the president, the vice president, as well as written several letters on the alarming situation and therefore the claim couldn’t have been true.
Earlier, Chairman of the Army Probe Panel, Retired Maj Gen John Nimyel sympathized with the governor and people of Taraba over the lost of lives and property in the state.
He told the governor that they were in the state to ascertain facts on the comments made by Danjuma so as to enable them come up with ways the army can serve the country better.
According to him, members of the committee were selected based on their past track records of excellence and pledged the determination of the panel to be unbiased, free and transparent in their assignment.
“The statements by Danjuma has indeed cut short the reputation of the Armed Forces of Nigeria which cannot be ignored.
“If the Nigerian Army will continue to earn the trust and respect of the people of the state and indeed Nigerians it must investigate such a statement.
“We will do our best and visit all the three Senatorial Districts and interface with traditional rulers, stakeholders and government representatives so as to come out with a decision as regards the allegations raised by the General,” he said.