Wednesday, April 5, 2023, was a sad day at Umogidi Entekpa in Adoka district of Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State when suspected armed herdsmen invaded the community for the second day and snuffed life out of 46 people.
Among those killed were the son of Bako Eje, who is the chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, his nephew and brother-in-law.
Before the latest attack, the herdsmen struck at Umogidi community on Tuesday, April 4, killing three people.
A native who identified himself as Dan told journalists that the armed herdsmen for the second time in two days stormed the community Wednesday evening.
Dan said: “If you remember, these people on Tuesday came to our community and killed three people. These people were buried around midday on Wednesday.
“We were still mourning these three people when they returned in the evening and started shooting sporadically.”
The LG chairman, Mr Eje, who confirmed the attack, lamented that he lost his 32-year-old son, nephew and brother-in-law to the Wednesday attack.
According to him, “you know that these herders killed three people on Tuesday, came back on Wednesday, at about 4:15 pm, and killed 46 people, including my own son who was 32 years old. We just buried him while some other persons are still missing.
“Among the people killed was my immediate younger sister’s husband and her second son who was almost 38 years old.
Confirming the attack and casualty figure, the Special Adviser on Security to the governor, Lt Col. Paul Hemba (retd), in a telephone chat with newsmen on Thursday, said that 46 people were killed.
“I can confirm to you that there was an attack in Umogidi and as at this morning, the causality figure from those who were seen physically from what I was told were 46. But the figure may be higher because some people are still reported missing.
“The local government chairman is from that community and unfortunately, he too lost his 32-year-old son. It’s a very tragic and painful incident,” Hemba said.
He stated further that more policemen and soldiers had been deployed to the area to assist, adding that the situation was calm at that moment.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene, a Superintendent of Police, confirmed the attack on Umogidi community.
The PPRO said that eight corpses had been recovered, including that of a police officer.
She added that more police teams had been deployed to the area to forestall further breakdown of law and order.
