Gunmen have killed six farmers across three communities in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State, abducting a young girl and several others missing.
The victims were ambushed by suspected armed herders while working on their cashew farms in Asaba, Ojantele, and Okpette communities.
An eyewitnesses, Agbaduma Oche, recounted the attack, describing it as a coordinated assault, with the attackers targeting farmers in the midst of harvest.
Oche said the assailants stormed the farmlands, shooting and hacking people the victims.
Governor Hyacinth Alia has condemned the attack, describing it as a “terrorist act” saying it will not be tolerated.
“The killing of innocent Benue citizens going about their daily farm work is an assault on our shared humanity,” Governor Alia said.
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Security agencies have launched a manhunt for the perpetrators, with joint teams of police, military, and local youths conducting search and rescue operations.
Benue state commissioner of Police CP through a press release by the Command PPRO DSP Udeme Edet”said the command will not rest until they track down those responsible for this heinous crime,”
TVC News previously reported that troops of the Joint Task Force Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) of the Nigerian Army have recorded operational successes in Benue State following a series of intelligence-led operations which resulted in the arrest of suspected cattle rustlers, the recovery of stolen livestock, and the killing of terrorists attempting to infiltrate communities within the Joint Operations Area.
In a Sunday statement signed by Lieutenant Ahmad Zubairu Zubairu, the Acting Media Information Officer HQ JTF, troops of the Chief of Army Staff Special Intervention Battalion IX, operating under OPWS, arrested three suspected cattle rustlers and recovered stolen livestock during a routine patrol around Obagaji in the Agatu LGA of Benue State.
Troops Neutralise Armed Criminal, Arrest Four Suspected Cattle Rustlers In Benue
