Armed men suspected to be herdsmen on Thursday killed six farmers while returning from their farms in Turan Community, Diiv, Yaav Council ward of Kwande local government area of Benue State.
An elder in the community who identified himself as Hon. Lawrence Akerigba told our correspondent in a telephone conversation that the herders on Wednesday afternoon, also attacked and killed a farmer who was working on his farm.
“The herders have now device different ways of killing people. They are no longer using guns, what they’re doing now is ambushing farmers and butchering people with sharp objects like knifes and machetes.
“Yesterday evening, they came in large numbers and split themselves in different directions targeting farmers who were returning from their farms, catching them like chicken and slaughtering them one after the other,” Akerigba said.
He said nobody was aware what was happening until a woman who escaped with her daughter and had her ear cut off by the herders, appeared from the bush and narrated what happened.
Akerigba said it was already night and everyone was afraid to go into the bush in search of the man who did not return until his corpse was recovered on Thursday morning.
He stressed that on that Thursday evening, the herders returned to the community at about 5pm, targeting returning farmers. “Although we were on alert, but because we have nothing to defend ourselves. We alerted the security agencies stationed in the area but before they arrived, five persons were already killed and several others are missing.
“As I am talking to you now, we have recovered five corpses from the surrounding bushes and we are still searching for the missing persons,” Akerigba narrated.
He called on the federal and state governments to deploy more mobile police officers in the area to protect the farmers to plant and harvest their crops.
When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Udene Eden said she was yet to get the report. “Let me check first, because I don’t have such report,” she said.
