Two weeks after the violent Zaki Biam protests that claimed three lives and left many properties destroyed, gunmen suspected to be militias have killed 18 persons, kidnapped three others and destroyed properties worth millions of Naira at Mbacher council ward of the Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State.
The incident happened early Saturday and left two people injured while many have been displaced for fear of further attacks.
A local source said, “The militia stormed the village in large numbers and opened fire on people.”
When contacted, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Kastina-Ala LGA, Justine Shaku, confirmed the attack to newsmen on the phone in Makurdi, saying that soldiers got an intelligence report about the attack on Mbache village but before the soldiers could get to the area, the bandits wreaked havoc and left the area.
“Yes, I can confirm that 18 persons were killed and two others wounded by ‘terrorist ‘ bandits in my local government area.”
“We receive a distress call from the villagers that some group of terrorists mobilised themselves and were moving from house to house forcing people to follow them.
“Some were wounded. Yesterday night. I was told it was seventeen people who died but today, eighteen persons have been confirmed dead. All of them were assembled in one place and killed.”
The council boss further confirmed that before yesterday’s killings, some people were kidnapped including one Igbo man and his two children.
He added that, in recent days, apart from what happened yesterday we have had pockets of kidnappings. Kidnapping is also resurfacing in the area.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Police Command has confirmed the attack in Kastina-Ala LGA.
The command’s spokesman Sewuese Anene, who confirmed the incident in a text message to newsmen, said the investigation is ongoing as normalcy has returned in the area.
