Death Toll In Benue Attack Rises To 34

The death toll from the attack on Yaav and Mbadura council ward in Turan community, Kwande local government area of Benue State, by armed men suspected to be herdsmen has risen to 34, as 15 more bodies were recovered yesterday.

Our correspondent, who spoke to a local source from the community who identified himself as Ordue Akough through a telephone conversation, explained that the attackers who invaded the Yaav and Mbadura communities in different directions at about 6 pm were shooting sporadically at all directions, killing over 19 people on the spot.

According to him, apart from the 19 corpses recovered on the spot, another 15 corpses were found in surrounding bushes on Tuesday morning by community members who were combing the nearby bushes in search of their loved ones after the attackers fled the scene.

Akough maintained that the attackers, apart from the killings, also set over 1,000 houses, including crops and barns, ablaze.

He said, “To date, security personnel have yet to visit the scene of the attacks to instil confidence in the minds of residents who have continued to flee in droves.”

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He said over 30 people are still missing while over 50 persons who sustained varying degrees of injury are receiving treatment in different hospitals in the local government, and those in critical conditions have been taken to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital Makurdi (BSUTH) for treatment.

“As I am talking to you now, one out of the eight persons brought to the teaching hospital Makurdi for treatment has lost his life, and they are making arrangements to bring his corpse back home for burial,” he said.

Recall that over 16 persons were on Saturday, 15 February killed, by the marauding herdsmen, and their bodies were thrown into the river.

When contacted, the police public relations officer (PPRO), Catherine Anne, said she saw the report and called the divisional police officer in charge of the area, but she has yet to brief her.