Bloodbath as Tiv, Fulani clash in Benue

*Umar…on the hospital bed after the attack

No fewer than 30 persons were feared dead in a fresh clash between Fulani herdsmen and native Tiv farmers in Yogbo, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. This came as the Joint Task Force, JTF, confirmed, yesterday, that 24 sect members were killed in Monday’s spate of explosions and shootings in Maiduguri. Majority of those killed in the bloodbath that erupted Sunday morning in Yogbo were women and children who could not escape  before the herdsmen invaded the embattled community.

The renewed crisis also left several farmlands and yields in ruins while houses and huts worth several millions of Naira were also destroyed by the rampaging Fulani herdsmen. It was gathered from fleeing residents of the community who had taken refuge in Makurdi town that the arms wielding herdsmen attacked Yogbo, a community that is less than 15 minutes drive from Makurdi town, at about 7am on Sunday when most residents had gone to church.

According to one John Usher who said he escaped with his wife and three children from the sudden attack, “we never envisaged any attack on that day, because we have been living in peace with one another for sometime now. “We were surprised when the Fulanis suddenly attacked us, slaughtering over 30 women and children who were at home when many families had gone to church; we heard screams of women and children being murdered by the Fulanis who quickly disappeared after carrying out the dastardly attack”.

He added: “Given the timing of this latest attack on Tiv farmers, it has become worrisome that any time a year is coming to an end, these ugly incidents always occur, leading to the spilling of blood and the wanton destruction of property and farm yields of Tiv farmers by the invading Fulani herdsmen. It is just unfortunate”. When contacted, the Benue state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Deputy Superintendent of Police,  Daniel Ezeala confirmed that men of the command have been deployed to the troubled spot to forestall further bloodbath in the area.