Bandits kill 3 in fresh attack on Benue community

Barely 24 hours after three people were killed in Yelewata, bandits have launched another deadly assault in Uikpam community, Mbabai Council Ward of Guma Local Government Area, Benue State, leaving three more people dead.

The attack, which took place late Tuesday, has heightened fears among residents who say such incidents have become all too frequent in the area.

Confirming the incident to Channels Television on Wednesday, community leader and former Guma I State Assembly candidate in the 2023 elections, Jimmin Geoffrey, described the killings as another devastating blow to the already traumatized community.

Geoffrey said the discovery of the corpse of Iorhemba Ikpanju, an elderly man from the community, on Wednesday morning, has brought the casualty figures to three following the killing of Akeh Kelvin and Francis Nomsoor last night.

Sustained herdsmen attacks on Guma communities, which share borders with Nasarawa State, remain a major setback to the fight against insecurity.

“The discovery of the body of Baba Iorhemba Ikpanju at a nearby bush this morning brings the total casualty figures to three, following the death of Akeh Kelvin and Francis Nomsoor last night when herdsmen attacked the Uikpam community.

“We again call on concerned authorities to make haste by redeploying security operatives to Uikpam in order to at least repose some level of confidence in the already traumatised residents.”

The police authority in Benue State has remained silent on these killings, as every media inquiry is met with no response.

However, the Guma Local Government Chairman, Maurice Orwough, has since mobilised security forces to the area.