5 Soldiers, 7 Civilians Killed As Fulani Herdsmen Attack Benue Community

No fewer than five soldiers and seven civilians were killed, Sunday morning, by suspected Fulani herdsmen in a fresh outbreak of a bloody crisis in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State. Sources said the dead soldiers were part of the detachment of military personnel from the 72 Airborne Brigade in Makurdi who were dispatched to the crisis zone to maintain peace. Contacted on the development, the state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr. John Ngbede, said the marauders attacked Agatu in their usual gorilla fashion at about 10 a.m. on Sunday. Meanwhile, the state secretary of Myetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, an umbrella body of the Fulani herdsmen, Garus Gololo, also expressed disgust at the renewed crisis. “I am alarmed because this latest crisis is comming at a time when measures are being put in place to ensure a check on any form of crisis between Fulani herdsmen and their host communities in Benue State,” Gololo said. The Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ezeala confirmed the story, saying: “Twelve persons were killed on Sunday in Agatu. The situation is under control now with the deployment of enough policemen to the affected places just as investigation into the matter has commenced”.