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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
Suspected cattle rustlers armed with sophisticated weapons have attacked Oyilawu village in Okpafie community, Okonobo Ward, Okpokwu Local Government, Benue State, killing two persons and rustling more than 40 cows.
The attack reportedly occurred on Wednesday night. One of the victims was identified simply as Benjamin of Okpafie.
Our correspondent gathered that the attackers struck while youths in the village were watching the World Cup match between Senegal and Belgium.
It was learnt that by the time residents received information about the attack and arrived at the scene, the assailants had fled.
A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the attackers also killed a member of the local vigilante group who attempted to stop them at Aidogodo.
Chairman of Okpokwu LG, Adah Inalegwu, confirmed the incident.
He said: “Some cattle rustlers came to Okpafie village in Okonobo Ward around 1 a.m. on Thursday. They were about 12 in number and were heavily armed with AK-47 rifles.
“The owner of the cattle was sleeping when they attacked him. They had made several attempts in the past, but he repelled them.
“They neutralised the owner first, gained access to the compound and made away with the cows. After the incident, members of the community alerted the local vigilantes.
“The vigilantes engaged the rustlers in a gun battle around Okpoga, Aidogodo area. Two persons were shot during the exchange and one later died from gunshot wounds.
“We are still trailing them because they are believed to be hiding in the bush. The police and the army are on their trail, and we hope they will be apprehended. Security operatives have visited the community and assured residents that such an incident will not recur.
“We are working towards establishing a standby security force. Had we had one in place, we would have been able to repel the rustlers. We are putting structures in place to prevent a recurrence.”
Inalegwu said the rustlers were outsiders.
“They are Fulani herdsmen. This is the third time such an incident has happened. During the first attack, we arrested one of the rustlers, who provided useful information that led to the arrest of two others.
“They are currently at the State CID and have confessed to being cattle rustlers.”
The chairman added that investigations traced some of the suspects to Ezza-Igbo in neighbouring Ebonyi State, where they allegedly use routes linking Ado, Okpokwu and Ebonyi communities to carry out their operations.
“These people use routes around the boundary between Ado, Okpokwu and Ebonyi State. Our investigation and phone tracking indicate that they are based in Ezza-Igbo, Ebonyi State,” he said.
