Seven people were confirmed to have lost their lives after Fulani Herdsmen attacked Agabge village of Gwer West Local Government Area in Benue State.
Adeyemi Yekini, a Major General and Commander of the military’s Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), said this at a press conference in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, on Sunday.
Although the Nigerian Army said only seven people were killed, Francis Ayagah, Chairman of the LGA, claimed that not less than 17 people were killed in the attack.
Yekini, while corroborating the account of Flight Lieutenant, Abubakar Mohammed, his unit commander overseeing the Gwer West axis, explained that gunmen, dressed in military uniforms, had on Saturday killed innocent people and rustled cattle in the Agabge area.
He said the names of the seven killed in the attack had been forwarded to OPWS by the council chairman and would be handed to the Police for arrest.
“It is obvious that some forces are bent on instigating violence in Benue State and they are armed too. I am warning them to stop immediately or else the arm of law will catch up with them,” he said.
He stated that those killed in the attack were innocent natives of the Agagbe community, adding that investigation was ongoing to unravel the attackers to bring them to book.
Ayagah, who gave the names of the affected villages under Agagbe community as Tse-Tuma, Shaia, Tse-Jagu and surrounding villages, urged the military to fish the killers.
He also said he had forwarded the names of seven suspects, whom he wanted the Police, to investigate to the OPWS.
