Fulani herdsmen kill 10 farmers in Benue

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(Nigeria) The Police have confirmed the killing of no fewer than 10 farmers in a reprisal attack on the people of Guma Local Government Area of Benue State by gunmen.
Mr Austin Ezeani, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Police Command in the state, who spoke on Monday in Makurdi,  said the gunmen, suspected to be Fulani youths from the neighbouring village in Nasarawa State,  launched the attack, to avenge the killing of two Fulani men by some Tiv youths last week.
He said that some Tiv youths had earlier last week, attacked, robbed and killed two Fulani men who were passing by a village in Guma Local Government Area of the state.
He said that the gunmen, numbering about eight on four motorcycles, launched the attack on the people of Mbaduen District of Guma and killed the 10 persons.
Ezeani also said that the gunmen set four motorcycles belonging to the villagers ablaze.
According to him, the villages attacked were Iorkya, Tse-Torkpande, Aver-Wenge, Akeriwange and Aper.
He  said that the bodies of the victims had been deposited at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, adding that only five of the bodies had been identified by their relatives.
He said that no suspect had been arrested in connection with the killings but that the police were still investigating the matter.
Ezeani urged farmers who had fled for fear of further attacks to go back home as the Police had deployed their men to the area to maintain peace and order.
He also said that the area commanders in Makurdi and Nasarawa had been collaborating to track down the invaders.
Ezeani said that the chiefs of the affected villages had also been contacted to help the Police with information that could assist in tracking down the culprits.
He, however, warned the chiefs to advise their youths not to take the law into their hands but to hand over any suspect they might arrest to the Police.
Meanwhile, in a separate interview,  AVM Stephen Ugbor (rtd), the Special Adviser to Governor Gabriel Suswam on Security Matters, blamed the Tiv youths for the unfortunate killing of their  people.
He said the youths had been warned several times not to take law into their hands but that they kept disobeying the warnings.
"Whatever grievances they have, they can report to the elders of their villages who will bring it to the notice of the government for necessary the action to be taken. The government has been up and doing to make sure that the Fulanis do not come and attack our communities but we do not support the Tiv youths taking law into their hands," he said.
Ugbor admitted that what the Tiv youths did that attracted revenge from the Fulanis was unacceptable but stated that the state  government had been brokering  peace between the two tribes.
The special adviser said that the government had already scheduled a meeting for Tuesday to discuss the matter.
He said that the meeting would be between the community elders of Guma and the neighbouring Fulani leaders at Guma, to find a lasting solution to the recurrent feud.

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