It has been reported that at least 10 persons were feared dead in an early morning attack by suspected herdsmen on Mbakyondo, Mbakpa and Sengaev communities in the Agagbe area of Gwer West local government area of Benue State.
According to Vanguard, it was gathered from a reliable source in the area that the attackers stormed the three communities around 2 am yesterday, shooting sporadically and burning down houses and huts in the communities.
The source said: “They came in their numbers wielding sophisticated weapons, shooting anything on sight and razing the houses of the people.
“As we speak not less than 10 persons may have been killed, most of them were gunned down while fleeing while some were burnt alive in their houses.
“Scores have been injured while many are also unaccounted for though there is total confusion and palpable tension in the entire Gwer West Local Government Area at the moment.
“The crisis has led to a mass movement of people mostly women and children from the affected communities to Naka the local government headquarters.
“Our fear is that the attackers, who are moving unrestrained, may storm Naka because the residents of Naka have also started fleeing their homes, some are currently moving towards Adoka in Otukpo Local Government Area.
“We may have a huge humanitarian crisis in Naka if nothing is done urgently to stem this problem.”
Vanguard recalls that recently, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, had alerted that there was growing tension in Gwer West over brewing crisis between herdsmen and farmers.
He had assured that the Police was taking steps to douse the tension and restore normalcy in the area through its dispute resolution mechanism.