Killings: Review security in Benue, Buhari orders security chiefs

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Saturday, condemned the recent killings in Benue State which left over 46 people dead in the Umogidi community of Entekpa-Adoka in Otukpo Local Government Area of the state.

He also directed the secret services, police and military commanders to enhance surveillance on every front and immediately review the security management in the affected areas.

He urged the aggrieved parties to embrace efforts to end the “extreme violence.”

“The entire nation stands united in the fight against the forces of terror and evil,” Buhari said in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

In the statement titled ‘President Buhari calls for end to extreme violence in Benue’, the president condemned the use of terrorism as a tool in inter-communal conflicts, urging that the attackers be found and dealt with swiftly under the law.

He also conveyed his sympathy to the families of those who lost their lives in the attack.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those murdered. The entire nation stands united in the fight against the forces of terror and evil,” said the president.

In a sustained attack on Wednesday, armed herdsmen reportedly killed at least 46 people in Umogidi community of Entekpa Adoka district in the Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.

The attack came a day after suspected herders invaded the community and killed three persons on Tuesday.

A day earlier, Monday, assailants also killed three persons in Igbobi community in the neighbouring Apa Local Government Area of the state.

The PUNCH gathered that the armed herders returned to the Umogidi community on Wednesday evening, shortly after the burial of the three persons earlier killed on Tuesday.

The Special Adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom on Security, Lt. Col. Paul Hemba (retd.), described the incident as “very tragic and painful.”

He said, ‘I can confirm to you that there was an attack in Umogidi and as of this morning, the causality figure, from those who were seen physically from what I was told, was 46.

“But the figure may be higher because some people are still reported missing.”