At least three people have been killed in an attack by suspected armed herdsmen on Tse Orjime community, Agan, in Mbalagh Council Ward of Makurdi Local Government Area, Benue State.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants stormed the farming community around 5 p.m. on Thursday, opening fire indiscriminately and forcing residents to flee their homes.
The community, located less than three kilometres from the heart of Makurdi town, was thrown into chaos, with many residents fleeing towards the Makurdi-Daudu highway and the North Bank area.
After the attackers withdrew, youths in the community recovered the corpses of three people from the farms and marched them to the home of Alfred Berger, the lawmaker representing Makurdi North in the Benue State House of Assembly, in a protest over the killings.
“The angry youths took the corpses to his residence to register their protest,” a source said. “They almost set his house ablaze, but the police intervened quickly.”
Lawmaker Berger confirmed the incident, saying: “Armed herdsmen attacked my people and killed three persons in their farms. The youths brought the corpses to my house and nearly burned it down along with my children who were at home at the time.”
He lamented the breakdown of peace in the community, noting that efforts to maintain calm had been successful until Thursday’s attack.
Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident, saying the Command received a distress call around 6 p.m. and immediately deployed officers to pursue the attackers into the bush.
“Simultaneously, the youths of the area mobilized and were attempting to burn down the residence of the lawmaker, but they were also restrained by the police,” Anene said.
The three recovered corpses were taken to the General Hospital in North Bank as investigations continue.
