Armed herdsmen kill three in Makurdi, irate youths move corpses to lawmaker’s residence

At least three persons have been confirmed dead following a suspected armed herdsmen attack on the Tse Orjime community, Agan of Mbalagh Council Ward in Makurdi Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue state.

I was gathered from an eyewitness that the marauders who stormed the community Thursday at about 5 pm shot sporadically to chase the people away from their homes after killing three persons in their farms.

The attack left the members of the community, which is less than three kilometers from the heart of Makurdi town, scampering and fleeing through the Makurdi-Daudu highway and to the North Bank axis of the state capital.

The eyewitness disclosed that after the invaders retreated, the youths of the community recovered three corpses from the farms, which they moved on foot to the home of the lawmaker representing Makurdi North in the State House of Assembly, Mr. Alfred Berger.

He said, “The angry youths of the community took the corpses to his residence to register their protest over the killings. They almost razed his house but for the quick intervention of the police.”

The lawmaker who also confirmed the incident disclosed that ” armed herdsmen attacked my people and killed three persons in their farms. The three corpses of those killed in the attack were brought to my house by angry youths who almost burnt down my house and my children who were at home at the time.”

Lamenting the situation, the lawmaker said, “since I was elected we have made sure that there is relative peace in our area until the unfortunate incident of Thursday.”

Confirming the development in a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent, CSP Catherine Anene, said the Command received information about the attack Thursday evening at about 6 pm.

According to her, “the Police teams within the area responded immediately and started chasing the attackers into the bush.

Simultaneously, the youths of the area mobilized themselves and were attempting to burn down the residence of Mr. Alfred Berger, the lawmaker representing the area in the State House of Assembly. But they were also resisted by the police.

At the end of the operation, three corpses earlier shot by the attackers were recovered and taken to the General Hospital, North Bank while investigation is ongoing.”