By Ifeoma Edu. March 22, 2024. 2 mins read.
In a recent attack on three communities in Benue state's Apa Local Government Area (LGA), gunmen allegedly killed around fifteen people. The attackers were thought to be herders.
Reporters were informed by locals that the onslaught began on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, and continued for three days in a row. They claim that although there were five fatalities on Tuesday, there were two on Wednesday and eight on Thursday.
Some eyewitnesses claim that the herdsmen attacked the Apa LGA communities of Akpete, Ijaha, Ochumekwu, and Inyapu, killing, setting on fire, and injuring numerous others.
Oche Yakubu, an Apa youth leader, informed reporters that "herdsmen attacked Akpete, Ijaha, Ochumekwu, and Inyapu yesterday evening, Wednesday, until this morning, Thursday, March 21 and killed two. "Persons, leaving one seriously injured. "They killed two at Ugbobi, one in Ijaha, and injured one more. In Inyapu, they killed two persons, bringing the total to five. "There's no cause for these attacks. The villagers would simply congregate in the hamlet, in their homes, and the Fulani would enter the bush and begin shooting and attacking them. "They're just killing our people anyway," he remarked.
When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer PPRO SP Catherine Anene stated that she had received no complaints of the attacks. The temporary chairman of Apa LGA, James Umoru, acknowledged the attacks, stating that they are helpless and uncertain the number of casualties anymore. "There is no explanation for what you heard; it is the truth.
"Approximately 95% of an area of my village has been displaced. The whole Edikpo community has been displaced. My home community, Opaha, is not represented. Odugbo is absent, as are Akpete, Ikobi, Akpata, Idiaha, Ochumekwu, and Adiga. "Every day, they would burn houses in Akpete.
As I speak, they have been going to Akpete for three days in a row, destroying houses after
forcing families to flee their ancestral homes."They've been setting up ambushes and killing one, two, three, or five individuals per day. I am currently unaware of the number of casualties. He continues "There are so many.
Even yesterday, Herdsmen barricaded the highway near Nasarawa Toto, which leads to
Oweto and Otukpo, between the villages of Ojantele and Orozo. Umoru stated that officials must take proactive actions to stop the killings, as they have gone beyond lip service.
Our lawmakers in the National Assembly have moved motions several times without number but nothing has changed. Who are we crying to? "We need to cry to God. “It’s a pathetic situation. I do not know what to do. I'm speechless. Sometimes, I wonder why II should compete in election. I don't have the resources to do anything anywhere. How do you influence people's lives, whether they are sad or settled? "What number of people can you feed? If they are in their villages, you can easily contact them; however, how can you transport a solar system there if they are not present? Umoru asked for immediate action to stem the flow of the attacks.
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