Scores of people were reportedly killed in an early morning attack on Sai community in Mbajir ward of Katsina-Ala Local Council Area of Benue State.
  
Sources in the affected community said the assailants invaded the community at about 2 a.m. yesterday and killed several residents.

One of the residents disclosed on the telephone on condition of anonymity that several bodies had been recovered, while many injured victims had been taken to a hospital in Katsina-Ala for treatment.
   
According to the source, the invaders “moved from house to house, shooting sporadically and forcing people to flee into the bush for safety.
   
“As we returned to the community at daybreak, youths had recovered 10 bodies of victims, while several others had been taken to a hospital in Katsina-Ala for treatment.”
   
Meanwhile, Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has condemned the attack and urged security agencies to deploy additional personnel to the area. In a statement by his chief press secretary, Tersoo Kula, Alia said the prompt deployment of security personnel would help prevent further attacks.
   
According to him, the deployment of additional personnel to Sai and surrounding communities will “prevent further incursions by terrorists and armed herdsmen,” while the security agencies should “launch a manhunt for the perpetrators of this heinous crime to ensure they are brought to face the wrath of the law.”
   
Describing the attack as a “senseless assault on innocent citizens,” the governor added that “this attack is an ugly, cowardly and unacceptable act of violence, particularly coming at a crucial time when our hardworking farmers, who have returned to their ancestral lands, are cultivating their farms.”
   
Also, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for the 2027 Benue State election, Michael Aondoakaa, has strongly condemned the current wave of attacks in parts of the state, which have led to the killing of many innocent people and the displacement of thousands of others.
   
Aondoakaa, in a statement by his Media Assistant, James Ian, condemned yesterday’s attack on the Sai community, describing the massacre as another painful reminder of the worsening security situation in the state.

The Ter Katsina Ala and Chairman of Katsina Ala Traditional Council, His Royal Highness Gbakaan Tativ, also confirmed the attack on the Sai community, telling The Guardian that aside the six who were killed, no fewer than 13 people escaped with various degrees of injuries and are hospitalised.

The monarch appealed to the federal and state governments to be more proactive in protecting the people or allow communities to arm themselves for self-defence rather than remain sitting ducks to be killed at will.