Suspected armed herdsmen killed a mother, her son, and two others in the Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.
According to locals, the herdsmen attack occurred on Wednesday in the Egwuma and Ogbai communities of the LGA.
Chronicle NG gathered that two people were reported missing at the time of the attack by the herdsmen.
On Wednesday, a local from Egwuma named Inalegwu told our correspondent over the phone that suspected armed herdsmen raided the two communities and attacked the innocent inhabitants.
Inalegwu said, “Some Fulani herdsmen attacked the Egwuma and Ogbai communities today. They killed a woman and his son who were working on their farm and also killed two others at the neighbouring Ogbai community.
“As I am talking to you now, two people are still missing, and we are searching for them.
When contacted, Melvin James, the Chairman of Agatu LGA, who confirmed the incident, described it as ‘senseless and barbaric.”
The chairman said, “This is an unprovoked attack on our people. It’s senseless and barbaric. How could people attack and kill a mother and her son who were working on their farm?
“The incident happened today (Wednesday) at Egwuma, where they killed an innocent mother and her son working on their farm, and the other two people were killed at the neighbouring Ogbai community.
While commending the security troops deployed to the region, the chairman stated that the attack was unleashed on the two communities while the security personnel were monitoring other areas.
“The security operatives in Agatu have been doing their best to beef up security, but the problem in my council is the bad roads. At the time the incident happened, the security men were on surveillance in other areas.
The spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, Udeme Edet, said she was on tour and had yet to receive the report.
“As you can hear voices underground, we are on tour, and I have yet to get the report, but I will get back to you later,” the PPRO said. She had yet to get the update as of the time of filing this report.