Two soldiers and seven people, including the village chief of Eguma village in the Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State, were slain by suspected herdsmen on Tuesday.
Audu Sule, a former politician who represented the local government at the Benue State House of Assembly from 2011 to 2019, claimed that the suspended herdsmen entered Eguma village around 3 p.m. and began murdering people.
Sule reports that military personnel stationed in his village in Ogwule, a short distance away, rushed to the distress call from Eguma village. However, the leader of Eguma village and six other soldiers, as well as two soldiers, were killed by the armed herders, increasing the number of casualties to nine.
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He bemoaned the constant security risks his people faced, pointing out that this attack was the fourth on the Agatu local government area’s Eguma and Ogwule villages in the previous month.
He reports that following the military involvement, nine people—including two soldiers—were murdered in a gunfight with the alleged ranchers, who then escaped.
A Police spokesperson in the state, Sewuese Anene, speaking on the matter said the command had not yet been informed of the killing or of any shared intelligence that had been provided to the military regarding the Agatu attacks.
