- Three farmers have been reportedly killed and houses were set ablaze in a Benue community
- The attack was said to have been carried out by people believed to herders
- The Force Commander of the Operation Whirl Stroke said his troops engaged the hoodlums in a gun battle and inflicted heavy casualty on them
Suspected herdsmen have reportedly killed three farmers at Tomatar in Guma local government area of Benue state.
Premium Times reports many houses were set ablaze while scores of people were displaced and several people were also missing after the attack on Tuesday, February 5.
Legit.ng gathered that the residents said the hoodlums attacked the area in the early hours of the day and were shooting sporadically.
The online medium noted that an indigene of Tse-Tseghem, one of the communities worse hit in the attack, Dennis Mernyi, said he received a telephone call from his people that their village and other surrounding villages were under severe attack by the insurgents.
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Mernyi disclosed that Tse-Tseghem settlement is a coastal community where over 50 people were massacred on New Year day in 2018.
He said: “My brothers who are in the village called me on Tuesday morning, February 5, that two people were shot dead, three houses burnt and a few other people sustained gunshot injuries during the attack.
“The armed men engaged the Operation Whirl-Stroke (OPWS) of the Nigerian Army stationed in the area in a gun battle that lasted for several hours before they were pushed back to the neighbouring Nasarawa state.”
Confirming the invasion, the Force Commander of the Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), Major General Adeyemi Yekini, told journalists that the armed mercenaries tried to invade Tomatar in Guma but his troops engaged them in a gun battle and inflicted heavy casualty on them.
Yekini, however, said his troops did not suffer any casualty in the battle. He assured the people of the state that the OPWS would continue to do its best to ensure the safety of lives and property of all by dislodging all armed criminals anywhere in the state.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that suspected herdsmen reportedly shot dead an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) at Umuachi-Afor community, Ndokwa east local government area, Delta state.
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It was reported that the police officer, until his death, was attached to the Ashaka police divisional headquarters. He had allegedly led a team of police officers in search of the herdsmen who had been terrorising the area with kidnapping activities when he was reportedly killed on Thursday, January 31.
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