FULANI HERDSMEN SHOOT AT BENUE GOV, KILL 25

BENUE State governor, Mr Gabriel Suswam and the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Honourable Teryile Ahua, escaped death by a whisker on Tuesday, as they were caught in crossfire between mobile policemen and suspected Fulani herdsmen at Tse Kayin village, in Guma Local Government Area of the state.
The governor and his entourage, which included the speaker of the state assembly, had a stopover at Tse Keyin on his way to Gbamjimba, headquarters of Guma Local Government on sighting houses being burnt by suspected Fulani herdsmen, whose cattle were also grazing the deserted village at the time.
Hardly had the governor stopped to assess the situation than mobile policemen shot into the bush to scare away the marauders, but there was a reprisal from the suspected Fulani herdsmen, who had hid in the bush on sighting the convoy.
It took the prompt intervention of security men to shield the governor and spirited him into his official vehicle to escape the rampaging herdsmen, while other people in the entourage, including newsmen, ran for cover, as mobile policemen threw canisters and shot sporadically into the bush.
Earlier, at Ukpan community, there had ensued an argument between the military men and the governor over whether they should continue with the trip to Gbamjiba, when the officer in charge told the governor that their assignment terminated at Ukpan, where a fresh attack was unleashed on the community early in the morning, leading to the death of about 25 persons.
While the military men returned to Makurdi, the governor’s convoy proceeded to Gbamjiba, before it ran into the crossfire at Tse Keyin.
Suswam, who went round the affected village on his way to the council headquarters, sighted the corpses of the victims killed during the attack early Tuesday.
According to a villager, who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune, the village, alongside others, had been deserted when they received message that Fulanis would come and invade the area.
The villager, identified as John, said only a handful of men were in the village when the Fulanis invaded around 6.00 a.m, adding that the marauders, on entering the village, had a stopover at a liquor joint before they unleashed terror on the area.
The assessment tour however revealed that all the communities in the council area, numbering about 200, had been sacked, while only a handful of people still remained at Gbamjiba, the council headquarters.
At Gbamjiba, the governor sympathised with the people over the constant attacks and killing, while he appealed to them to remain calm, as the government was doing everything possible to nip the crisis in the bud.
Source: Tribune