Suspected armed herdsmen have reportedly killed two soldiers in Jato-Aka town, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State.<\/p>\n
The armed herders also killed a police officer and two farmers identified as Yenge Kwaghkuga and Bem Adughigbudu in the community.<\/p>\n
An eyewitness, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the soldiers were ambushed while responding to a distress call to rescue residents living on the outskirts of Jato-Aka town.<\/p>\n
He said that in response to the attack, 12 trucks of security personnel were deployed to the area on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
One of the soldiers sustained a gunshot wound on his thigh, while another soldier who was shot during the attack, was still missing.<\/p>\n
However, residents believed that more security should be deployed to the volatile area due to the level of attacks and sophistication of arms held by the attackers in the area.<\/p>\n
The attacks have crippled economic activities, as the residents can no longer engage in farming activities.<\/p>\n
A resident of the area, Lawrence Akarigba, expressed concern over the persistent attacks by herdsmen, stating that they had attacked Tse Tsumbu and Yaav ward on Wednesday killing two people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe attacked area is home to the legislative aide to Senator Emmanuel Udende, whose brother, a member of the Volunteer guard, was killed last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have fled Jato Aka, which is the largest town in Turan, which is also the hometown of the former minister and elder statesman, Late Wantaregh Paul Iorpuu Unongo.<\/p>\n
\u201cJato Aka is like Afghanistan now, hence residents are unable to enter their homeland.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile people are moving out of Jato Aka, increased security would restore confidence in the community and motivate residents to return and continue with their normal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The source said the injured soldier has been evacuated to NKST Hospital in Jato-Aka for medical treatment, while efforts were ongoing to locate the missing personnel.<\/p>\n
When contacted, the Spokesperson of the Benue State Police Command, CSP Catherine Anene, said she was had yet to confirmed the incident.<\/p>\n
The spokesman for OPWS in Benue State, Sgt James confirmed the killing of the two soldiers and others in the Kwande local government area.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur men are on their way back to Makurdi. They may arrive around 9 pm. I don\u2019t want to give you incomplete information,\u201d he said Thursday night.<\/p>\n
Suspected armed herdsmen have reportedly killed two soldiers in Jato-Aka town, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State. The armed herders also killed a police officer and two farmers identified as Yenge Kwaghkuga and...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t