Herdsmen kill 25 persons, injure 21 in Nasarawa, Anambra, Ekiti

While the attack on Noma Village of Andaha in Akwanga Local Government area claimed 16 lives and injured 18 persons at a naming ceremony, six persons were killed in Anambra, while Ekiti lost two persons in an attack.An eyewitness to the Noma attack identified as Jerry told The Guardian that the incident took place during the ceremony, as some persons started shooting sporadically at people.

“So, we all started running towards a Fulani settlement very close to the venue of the ceremony, then another gun shot started from the direction of the settlement,” he said.Lamenting the killings of the Mada people of Andaha in Akwanga by herdsmen, paramount ruler of Akwanga, Samson Gamuyare, said the attack was unprovoked, adding that such attacks have become too frequent.

“This is the second time in three weeks when Fulani militia will attack the Mada people. It is sad to see defenceless women and children being massacred in cold blood for no just cause.”Confirming the incident, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mohammed Akira, said the force recovered 16 bodies from Noma Village following attack by suspected Fulani militia.

Also responding to the incident, representative of Nasarawa North Senatorial district, Phillip Kyunka, said the zone has been taken over by suspected Fulani kidnappers, armed robbers and militia groups who kill and destroy lives wantonly.Besides, National leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo youth wing, Arthur Obiorah Uchena, has condemned the killing of six farmers at Mmiata Anam in Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Obiorah lamented that those attacked were youths who died in their prime, while their hunters have been living without being prosecuted.The group tasked South-East governors to act in one voice to condemn and checkmate herdsmen invasion of farmers in Mmiata Anam, describing the attack as a dastardly act.

Also, herders killed no fewer than two persons at Iyemero-Ekiti and injured three other persons during an attack at Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State yesterday.The assailants invaded a farmstead at midnight in Eda, one of the communities under Iyemero town.Eyewitness identified one of the deceased as Danjuma Ali, a farmer, while the identity of the second person, whose remain had been deposited at the Ikole-Ekiti General Hospital morgue, could not be ascertained at press time.

The Olu of Eyemero, Oba Ogungbemi and Olu-In-Council, restated their calls for establishment of a police station in the town to curb the incessant attacks.When contacted, the PPRO of Ekiti Command, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu, said he has not been briefed on the incident.

Meanwhile, unknown gunmen suspected to be militants in Bakassi Local Government area of Cross River State shot a Police Constable on duty at Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Office in Bakassi. When contacted, the state PPRO, DSP Irene Ugbo, confirmed the incident, saying the Police Officer was on duty when the suspected militants shot him.