By Nicholas Ojo
No fewer than three people have been reportedly killed by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen at Adaka, a suburb of Makurdi, Benue State.
It was learnt that some herders invaded the community and attacked residents on their farm on Friday.
The attack was said to be a reprisal for the killing of some cows that destroyed their farmland, according to some of the locals.
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A resident, who identified himself simply as Terkimbir, told journalists that, “Three people from this community were killed; one of them is our son, while the other two came to get land to farm rice.
“As they left for the farm, it was discovered that they didn’t return and a search party was raised the following day (Saturday) which included security men. That was when they discovered their dead bodies.”
Confirming the incident was the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Col. Paul Hemba (retd.), who said that the corpses were discovered on Saturday.
He said, “When I was informed of the development, it was in the night (Friday), so we waited till Saturday morning and sent out patrols, including members of the community. In the course of the patrol, we discovered the corpses of the missing three persons brutally killed with machetes.
“The community is suspecting that Fulani herdsmen murdered the victims. This is because the herdsmen operate in their vicinity.
“Additionally, just last week, the Fulani herdsmen alleged that some of their cows which invaded people’s rice farms were killed in that community. The community is suspecting that the gruesome murder of the three was a reprisal.
“The people said they killed the cattle because they invaded their rice farms. Most times, these farms are cultivated with loans, which must be paid back after harvest.”
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“From the pictures we have, you can see that the animals that were killed were grazing freely on a large rice farm and probably the owner of the farm, out of anger and frustration, attacked and killed the cows. They killed the cattle and left them on the farms they destroyed.
“These are some of the terrible things farmers have been noticing; herders will push their cows into people’s yam, cassava and rice farms and watch them destroy and graze on them after which they will walk away. It’s painful that you will tend to your farm today and when you get there the next day, it is all eaten up by cows,” the adviser added.