No fewer than 100 people were killed in four council wards of Kastina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State at the weekend after gunmen raided the communities.
Over 100 corpses were said to have been recovered from many villages in the four council wards after the simultaneous attack by the suspected gunmen between Saturday and Sunday.
Kastina-Ala council chairman’s spokesman, Tertsea Benga, alleged that the gunmen stormed several communities in the Mbayongo council ward in Katsina-Ala LGA about noon on Saturday, razing several houses and killing many residents.
Benga identified the affected villagers attacked by the gunmen to include Vingir, Tse Nyipila and Tse Guji all in Mbayongo ward, adding that the attackers proceeded to Kenvanger in Mbatyula council ward on Sunday afternoon.
It was learnt that corpses of most of the victims of the attack were recovered from the bush.
Benga further recalled that half of the communities in one of the affected locality, Yooyo council ward in the same Katsina-Ala LGA, had earlier been sacked by the alleged armed invaders, who killed many people then and in the latest invasion.
Chairman of Kastina-Ala LGA, Alfred Atera, while confirming the incident, claimed that over 100 people were killed during the weekend in the four council wards of Mbayongo, Yooyo, Utange and Mbatyula/Mberev in a coordinated attack.
Atera accused suspected armed herders of collaborating with ‘Gana boys’, foot soldiers of the slain Benue wanted criminal kingpin, Terwase Akwaza, popularly known as ‘Gana.’
He said though the security agents in the area did their best, they were however overwhelmed.
The council boss said, “More than 100 people have been killed in different places.
“They [attackers] are killing and dropping as they are going on their way. Some people were able to claim the corpses for burial.
“I told the military that the attackers have developed a strategy; they are not attacking one place.
“If they attack a place now, the next thing you hear is that they are in Yooyo and at the same time they are attacking Utange. So, the military is going here and there.
“There is no military connivance, but I’m suspecting the existence of bandits here and I think they are trying to win cheap popularity.”
But police spokesperson for Benue Command, DSP Catherine Anene, had yet to calls or text messages as of the time of filing this report.