Suspected Fulani herdsmen at the wee hours of Friday invaded Tse Ancha in the Agan community of Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State and killed eight people.
Tse Ancha is about a kilometer to the Abegana IDP camp where seven people were killed by suspected herdsmen about three weeks ago.
The invasion and gruesome murder of the eight people including the kindred head of the community came barely 12 hours after the victims of the Abegana IDP camp were buried.
The casualty, according to a source in the community would have been more but for the prompt response of some youths who were at a wake in a nearby village and mobilized themselves and raced to the community.
Chairman of Makurdi LGA, Anthony Dyegeh, who confirmed the attack to our correspondent on the telephone said that the suspected herders could have wiped out Tse Ancha and proceeded to neighbouring villages but for the swift response from the youths who mobilized themselves and faced the herders.
The chairman said, “The quick intervention of the youths of the community who mobilized and repelled the attackers saved the communities from being wiped out because they came in their numbers and were obviously out to kill more people, sack the community, and march into neighboring villages.
“Luckily at the time of the attack, there was a wake keep at a nearby primary school on Makurdi-Lafia road, for a member of the Benue Livestock Guards who was killed within that same community at Tse Iyagwa village. And because they are displaced from the village the wake keep was held at a primary school.
“They (suspected herdsmen) operated in a commando fashion and about 10 minutes they disappeared.
The chairman further said, “the attack happened around 11:55 pm Friday and eight people were killed and five injured and they have been taken to Teaching Hospital among those killed is the kindred head of the village.
“The kindred head was among the people that accompanied me yesterday (Friday) to the burial of the seven people that were killed at Abagena IDP camp. We parted around 9.00 pm only for him to be killed at five minutes to midnight alongside others.
The chairman said three of the deceased would be buried later in the day (Saturday) because the bodies were battered and four will be buried today (Sunday) while the burial of the kindred head will be arranged by traditional rulers in the area.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP, Catherine Anene confirmed the attack.
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