Crime

Seven corpses recovered from Benue communities gunmen fresh attacks

Published by Fakinlede Tope John on February 7th, 2024.

Seven corpses recovered from Benue communities gunmen fresh attacks

Gunmen

Several people were reportedly killed by suspected gunmen who invaded Iwili community in Umogidi Ward and Entekpa community all in the Adoka District of Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State. The attacks commenced in Saturday and spread till Monday.

The attack on Umogidi was coming barely a year suspected armed herders invaded the community where several people were killed.

A legal practitioner from the local government, Ada Ocholi, told our correspondent on Tuesday that the suspected gunmen migrated from the Agatu area to Otukpo LGA.
He said some of the armed men who resisted the youths from invading their communities climbed and hid on trees where they unleashed terror on the people.

Ocholi said, “As of yesterday, four corpses were still in the bush and had yet to be recovered. I can’t say the number of corpses recovered so far, because yesterday, I was in touch with our youth leader there.

“He told me that they just came back from the bush and there were so many of the gunmen in the bush with military uniform, and that some of them were on top of trees with sophisticated weapons.”
Another source in the area who spoke on the condition of anonymity told our correspondent that the attacks left several persons injured while the affected villages had been deserted by the locals who fled for fear of being killed.
The local said, “They came from Agatu which they have been attacking since the beginning of the year. They came through Upaha in Apa LGA and accessed Iwili community in Umuogidi from where they also stormed Entekpa.”

The Chairman of Otukpo LGA, Alfred Omakwu, confirmed that seven dead bodies were recovered as of Tuesday afternoon, with the help of soldiers.

He added that a search for more bodies was ongoing with the assistance of military personnel.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene, said she was yet to receive information on the incident.