Residents Flee As Fulani Herdsmen Kill 17 In Benue

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Despite efforts by security agencies to stem the recurrent invasion of parts of Benue state by armed Fulani herdsmen, no fewer than 17 persons have been killed in Akough village in Guma local government area of the state by suspected Fulani mercenaries.

The armed herdsmen also razed Akough market, where some persons were also killed.

Eyewitnesses said the armed attackers stormed the village three days ago at the early hours of the day, burning down houses and huts, leaving several persons dead while many others sustained varying degrees of injuries. The development has forced several hundreds of people to flee their homes for fear of being attacked in another onslaught.

Meanwhile, the intensive cordon and search operation being conducted on members of Boko Haram by the troops of the Special Forces received a major boost as the Defence headquarters announced yesterday that a group of terrorists moving from village to village in search of large quantity of food were tracked and apprehended at Daban Masara with weapons such as AK 47 rifle, single barrel shotgun, double hand shotgun and various calibres of ammunition recovered from them, following a tip-off from civilians.

The Defence Headquarters in its statement said: “The group which was moving around in a Toyota Land Cruiser Jeep with registration number Borno XA 428 ADM which is suspected to have been stolen. They were eventually arrested at Daban Masara with weapons such as AK 47 rifle, single barrel shotgun, double hand shotgun and various calibres of ammunition.

“In other locations, a total of 56 identified insurgents were apprehended with the help of Military Police dogs.

“Items recovered from the arrested insurgents include, 7 packs of IEDs, 2 rocket propelled gun chargers, a rifle magazine, and 2 machetes.

“Others are bomb detonators, camouflage and other military uniforms as well as medicines, equipment, charms, 7 vehicles including a Jeep and 8 tri-cycles”.