Residents of Ondo community in Ugboju, Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, have fled their homes after suspected armed herdsmen launched another attack on Tuesday, barely 48 hours after seven people were killed in nearby communities.
Idoma Voice, a local newspaper, reported that the attackers stormed the community in the early hours of Tuesday, shooting indiscriminately and forcing residents to flee into the bushes and neighbouring communities.
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A Labour Party House of Assembly candidate for the 2027 election, Jimmy Nart, who is an indigene of the community, said the attack was ongoing when he alerted residents.
“I just received information from my family that Fulani terrorists are currently attacking Ondo, Ugboju. Protect yourself,” Mr Nart wrote in a message.
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Local reports indicated that some residents were killed, although the exact casualty figure could not be independently verified by PREMIUM TIMES as of the time of filing this report. Images circulating from the community showed victims lying in pools of blood.
The renewed violence triggered protests, with angry youths barricading the busy Otukpo-Agatu Road using burning tyres and other objects, disrupting vehicular movement as they demanded urgent intervention from the government and security agencies.
The protesters accused authorities of failing to protect vulnerable communities despite repeated attacks in Akpachi, Otukpo-Nobi and now Ondo village.
Efforts to obtain an official reaction from the police were unsuccessful. Calls and a text message sent to the Police Public Relations Officer, Udeme Edet, were not returned.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that suspected armed herdsmen attacked Akpachi and Otukpo-Nobi communities in Otukpo Local Government Area on 12 July, killing at least 10 people, according to local reports.
However, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, later confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that eight people, comprising five adults and three children, were killed in what he described as a “purely terrorist attack.”
Mr Nwadiogbu said the attackers employed guerrilla tactics by striking the community before fleeing into nearby forests, adding that security agencies had intensified efforts to track those responsible.
Following the attack, Governor Hyacinth Alia condemned the killings and directed security agencies to intensify surveillance, deploy additional personnel to vulnerable communities and work with neighbouring states to apprehend the perpetrators.
READ ALSO: Suspected herders kill scores in Benue, weeks after MACBAN chief’s murder
The latest violence has heightened fears among residents, many of whom believe the renewed attacks may be reprisals following the killing of the Benue State Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Alhaji Ardo Risku Mohammed, and his associate, Yakubu Isah.
The two men were ambushed and killed on 26 June around Okwudu in Otukpo Local Government Area while returning from a peace meeting in Ohimini Local Government Area.
Police later arrested 10 suspects in connection with the MACBAN chairman’s killing and said investigations were ongoing to arrest other suspects.
Residents have repeatedly appealed to the Benue State and federal governments to deploy more security personnel to Otukpo and other vulnerable communities, warning that the persistent attacks have forced many families to abandon their homes and farms amid growing fears of further violence.
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