The Benue State Police Command has confirmed that suspected herdsmen may have killed a staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) working on a pipeline along the border of Benue and Nasarawa States in Guma Local Government Area.
Similarly, the Nasarawa State Police Command yesterday confirmed the killing of seven persons by unidentified gunmen suspected to be herders on Monday night in the state.
The new Commissioner of Police in Benue State, Mr. Fatai Owoseni who spoke on the slaying of the NNPC staff during his first media briefing yesterday in Makurdi, said the victim was one of the officials of the corporation who were on an official assignment in the area.
He said that the attack occurred yesterday, adding that the police were still investigating the nature of the attack and the identity of other victims who some locals claimed were miners.
“From what we have gathered so far, the attack may have been carried out by some armed bandits but we are investigating.”
The police commissioner who also disclosed that two policemen were killed recently in Ukum Local Government Area of the state, stated that the problem around Ukum and Katsina-Ala was a communal clash and an act of banditry that was traced to the wanted militia leader, Terwase Akwaza, alias Ghana.
“What happened in Ukum and Kastina-Ala was purely an act of banditry which some criminals took advantage of. Most acts of banditry taking place in that axis are traced to Ghana.”
Owoseni also lamented that criminals in the area were taking advantage of the clashes between herders of cattle and farmers to perpetrate their own criminal acts, noting that it was for this reason the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, deployed special forces who are well trained to combat such criminality in the area.
He said some persons had been invited for interrogation, even as investigations were ongoing to unravel the cause of the clash but regretted what he described as the conspiracy of silence in the area.
The CP also urged the media to partner with the police in the onerous task of improving security, stating: “If the media keep reporting negative things about the country, we might be preventing investors from coming and investing in the country/”
Unknown gunmen last week ambushed two policemen in Ukum Local Government Area, killing them and setting their bodies on fire.
In neighbouring Nasarawa State, the police command also confirmed the killing of seven people by unidentified gunmen suspected to be herders on Mondaynight.
The attack happened at Kadarko, a village in Keana Local Government Area of the state.
According to Mr. Kennedy Idirisu, the force public relations officer, the victims were killed by gunmen who invaded the village on Monday, reported the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He described the incident as “saddening”, saying that a special police team, led by a senior officer, had been deployed in the area to forestall a recurrence.
Kadarko village has come under severe attacks lately, with cattle rustlers reportedly killing 73 cows on Sunday.
Two herdsmen were reported missing after the rustlers’ invasion.
