Armed herdsmen attack Benue community, shoot resident, loot shops

Armed men suspected to be herdsmen have again attacked the Ankpechi community in Oglewu Ward of Ohimini Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State, shooting a resident and forcing others to flee their homes.

Locals from the area raised the alarm on Thursday morning, saying Ankpechi in Oglewu Ward, Ohimini LGA, came under heavy attack by armed herdsmen.

They said the attackers, after shooting sporadically to scare residents, also looted shops for food before security personnel intervened.

Chairman of Ohimini LGA, Mr Gabriel Adole, who confirmed the incident, said the attackers invaded the community on Thursday morning between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., shooting sporadically and causing panic among residents.

According to Adole, one person sustained gunshot injuries during the attack and was rushed to hospital for medical treatment.

He explained that after invading the area, the armed men looted shops and carted away food items and other goods before security personnel moved in to contain the situation.

Adole said: “Yes there was an attack this morning between 8am and 9am by armed herdsmen. They came to the Ankpechi which is Oglewu Ward, shooting sporadically.

“They shot one person and the community scampered for safety. So, what they did was to burgle the shops around there, then carted away goods and food items.

“So, that is to tell you that they live very close to us and they came to attacked and take food from our communities They cannot go to buy food. So, they now came to Ohimini to collect food and they used force to collect the food.

“The people saw them, they were armed herdsmen. And as we speak the person they shot, has been taken to hospital. We are hopeful that he would survive it.”

The Chairman said he had alerted the Governor, and security personnel were immediately deployed to the area and are currently combing the surrounding bushes.

The latest incident comes barely five days after parts of communities in Benue South, including Otukpo-Nobi, were attacked, leaving 19 people dead, including a youth leader.