4 policemen feared dead in fresh Benue attack

At least four policemen have been feared killed in a gun battle between security operatives and armed invaders in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. Our correspondent gathered reliably that the attackers engaged security operatives who had prevented them from invading Ortese, Udei and other communities within that axis of Guma LGA in a […]

At least four policemen have been feared killed in a gun battle between security operatives and armed invaders in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

Our correspondent gathered reliably that the attackers engaged security operatives who had prevented them from invading Ortese, Udei and other communities within that axis of Guma LGA in a gunfight that lasted from Sunday morning into the night.

The Ortese community is a close distance to Yelwata where over 100 people were killed penultimate weekend and it also plays host to a large number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

While Udei community lies in proximity to Yelwata but is located on the interior side of the axis.

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Locals told our correspondent that the attack on Sunday started at Asha village located near Ortese around 11 am when the invaders began pursuing people from their farms and it escalated up to the Ortese community.

The villagers said they had raised an alarm a few days earlier about the movement of the invaders who masqueraded as herders with weapons strapped to their animals.

“We reported this movement to security agencies earlier. We saw visibly personnel but wonder what went wrong that the attackers were able to kill these policemen,” one community leader who preferred anonymity confided.

Also, a former government official, Matthew Mnyan, told journalists in Makurdi that it was a simultaneous attack, noting that as the security operatives were repelling them in Ortese, another group attacked Udei and killed four mobile policemen.

He added that security operatives have been mobilised to Udei but the residents including the IDPs in Ortese are all in fear and calling for more defence.

Police Public Relations Officer, Udeme Edet, did not respond to calls or text messages put through her telephone for comment about the incident.

When contacted to comment on the efforts being made by soldiers to repel the attackers, spokesperson of the Operations Whirl Stroke (OPWS), Lieutenant Ahmad Zubairu, simply replied, “Not confirmed. I will get back to you later.”