Herdsmen invade Benue settlements, kill one, injure scores

• Clerics urge immediate cessation of hostlities
• Delta CP cautions against jungle justice

Suspected Fulani herdsmen yesterday invaded three villages in Logo Local Council of Benue State, resulting in the death of one person, machete wounds on several others and torching of over 100 houses.

An informant in the area (name withheld) told The Guardian that the invasion took the indigenes of Tse Kyanyion, Tse Azakpa and Tse Orbiam settlements by surprise against the background that there was no provocation since no foreign herders lived in the council for years.

He, however, noted that the appearance of a population of grazing cattle on Monday afternoon in farms within the communities had raised initial suspicions but added that the people never thought something sinister was in the horizon.

As at press time, it was learnt area that scores of inhabitants had taken refuge in Ugba and neighbouring villages. Some indigenes told The Guardian that the event had been reported to the divisional police station and the Security Adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom, Col. Edwin Jando.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the state command, Moses Yamu, who confirmed the death of one person at Tse Orbiam and arrest of four suspects, added that they would soon be charged to court.

However, the founder of Resurrection Praise Ministry Worldwide, Archbishop Samson Benjamin, and the Lagos chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) have decried the spate of killings in southern Kaduna and parts of the country, seeking an immediate halt to the bloodletting.

Benjamin, who spoke during a visit to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, in Abuja, appealed for peace. He commended the police and other security agencies for their efforts so far.

However, the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Zanna Ibrahim, cautioned residents against resorting to jungle justice in the face of slightest provocation. He gave the warning against the backdrop of the recent reprisal attack on herdsmen by some youths in parts of the state.