Again! Herdsmen attack Benue communities
Armed men, suspected to be herdsmen, have attacked Tomatar community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
The attack happened on Monday, barely 48 hours before the scheduled visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to continue his presidential campaign.
Many people were said to have been injured, while some are still missing.
News gathered from local inhabitants indicated that the gunmen invaded the area in the early hours, and shot sporadically.
Dennis Mernyi, an indigene of Tse-Tseghem, whose community was worse hit in the attack, told reporters that he received a phone call from his people that their village and other surrounding villages were under severe attack by the insurgents.
According to Mernyi, Tse Tseghem settlement is a riverine area where more than 50 persons were massacred on New Year day in 2018.
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He said: “My brothers who are in the village called me on Tuesday morning that two people were shot dead, three houses burnt and a few other people sustained gunshot injuries during the attack.
“The armed gangs 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.”
Speaking on the invasion, Major General Adeyemi Yekini, Force Commander of OPWS, 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 the attackers.
The Force Commander added that his troops did not suffer any casualty in the battle, and assured the residents that the OPWS would continue to do its best to ensure the safety of lives and properties by dislodging and bringing to justice all armed criminals anywhere in the state.
