Benue Governor Says Attackers Not Just Herdsmen But Terrorists

The Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, has said that the people responsible for the killing of five people in Uikpian, a community in Guma Local Government Area of the State, are not just herdsmen but terrorists.

Governor Gabriel Suswam was at the village to see the carnage, where he also met with some of the villagers.

Speaking later, he said that the manner of operation showed that the assailants were well trained.

The Governor, whose convoy was attacked by the gunmen when he arrived at the scene where the assailants were burning down another village, also said that by virtue of the attack on his convoy, they could not be ordinary herdsmen.

The Governor’s views appeared corroborated when some of the displaced persons also revealed that the attackers came in large numbers and were carrying different weapons.

Another threatening dimension to the crisis was the alleged use of chemical weapon by the herdsmen, as one of the survivors, who is also a Vigilante Chief, Emmanuel Ifam and the Commissioner of Police, Adams Audu, gave accounts of the suffocating effect of the alleged chemical weapon.

Accordingly, the Benue State Government has ordered an autopsy on the corpses recovered from villages that were invaded by the Fulani herdsmen for verification of the allegation.

Governor Suswam, speaking on the borderline security arrangement with Nasarawa State, complained that Nasarawa remains a transit route for the attackers, but his Nasarawa counterpart, Tanko Al-Makura insisted that both states have a common problem with the Fulani herdsmen who remain a challenge to the region.