Bloodshed again in Benue as Herdsmen kill nine, Igede-Tiv clash leaves two dead

At least nine people, including a police officer, have been killed in a series of attacks by suspected armed herdsmen on communities in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.

Reports indicate that the assaults, which affected Okwutanobe, Okpokpolo, Olegagbani, and Ikpele communities, began on Friday and continued through to Tuesday, causing widespread panic and displacement.

A local resident who spoke on condition of anonymity told told Daily Watch News, “It started on Friday at Okwutanobe with two people killed. On Saturday, they attacked Okpokpolo and killed one person.”

“By Monday, another person was killed in Olegagbani. Then today (Tuesday), four people and one police officer were killed in Ikpele.”

Confirming the incident, Agatu LGA Chairman James Melvin said a total of nine deaths had been recorded in four separate attacks.

He suggested the assaults may have been reprisal actions linked to accusations of cattle rustling.

Meanwhile, rising tension has also gripped parts of the state following the killing of two Igede-speaking men, Jonathan Ogah and Gabriel Ogodo, from Oju LGA, allegedly by Tiv youths at Ulam community in Gwer East LGA.

The victims were reportedly waylaid and murdered while riding motorcycles on the Oju-Awajir road on their way to Makurdi. One of the men was said to have just recently gotten married.

The murder of the two close friends has inflamed already fragile relations between the Igede communities of Oju and Obi LGAs and their Tiv neighbours in Gwer East and Konshisha LGAs.

Travellers, including students from the College of Education in Oju, were seen avoiding the busy Oju-Aliade road due to rising fears.

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, in response to both incidents, condemned the killings and gave security agencies a 48-hour ultimatum to identify and arrest the culprits.

A separate attack in Buruku LGA, linked to a boat mishap dispute, was also noted by the governor, who reiterated his administration’s zero tolerance for violence and disruption of peace.

“No person or group has the right to attack another community or inflict harm under any condition,” the governor said in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula.

He instructed security agencies to coordinate with traditional rulers and launch a thorough manhunt for the perpetrators.

Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, who represents Benue South senatorial district, also condemned the killings.

In a statement by his media aide, Emmanuel John, the senator described the murder of the two young men from Oju as “barbaric and unacceptable.”

He urged the state government to take urgent steps to halt the killings along the Gwer/Konshisha/Oju corridor.

The Ito Youths Association (ITA), representing Igede-speaking youths, also condemned the act.

In a statement signed by National President Andrew Abi and Secretary Ijoga Ipesi, the group expressed concern that the killings had once again unsettled the fragile peace between the communities.