Hundreds feared killed as herdsmen attack Benue

Hundreds of persons were allegedly killed in four Agatu communities in Benue State by marauding Fulani herdsmen and militiamen. A member of the state House of Assembly representing the affected Agatu Constituency, Sule Audu who spoke with The Guardian on phone refused to give a specific death toll. But he noted that the number of people killed could not be quantified for now as “there were bodies almost everywhere and many were yet to be
identified and recovered.’’
He said a most disturbing aspect of the killings was that a helicopter which had taken off from
neighbouring Nasarawa State was seen hovering over the area. “As I am speaking to you now, a large number of the attackers are still crossing over to Agatu. A source in Nasarawa State just told me that they are being transported on motorcycles to Loco from where they cross over to Agatu,” Sule said.
He said he reported the matter to the police and was assured that security agents had been sent to the area to quell the crisis. He also disclosed that a delegation of Agatu elders met with the state governor, Samuel Ortom in order to find a lasting solution to the incessant crisis.
A former councillor in Agatu Local Council told The Guardian late yesterday afternoon on phone that fighting was still going on in Ayila, a situation he said would swell the death toll.
A resident of the area said that the attacks had frightened residents, especially of the local council headquarters in Obagaji where hundreds of survivors from the villages under attack were already taking refuge.