Gunmen, suspected to be bandits, on Friday night, killed 18 people in Mbacher council ward, Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State.
This is coming despite the 6:00p.m to 6:00a.m curfew imposed by the Benue State governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia on the three local government areas of Sankera axis of the state.
According to a native from the local government, the gunmen invaded the community around 11:00p.m on Friday and killed the villagers.
It was gathered that the bandits assembled the people who pretended to be addressing them when they opened fire on some of them.
Location of Benue State
Chairman of Katsina-Ala LGA, Justine Shaku, who confirmed the incident on Saturday, said that the bandits had concluded their operation before the military got to the village.
“At about 11pm yesterday (Friday) we received a distress call from the villagers that some group of terrorists mobilised themselves and were moving house to house forcing people to follow them.
“I quickly mobilised the military officers that are in Tor Doonga and been a remote area before they could reach there the people have been killed.
”Yesterday night, I was told it was 17 but today 18 bodies have been confirmed dead. All of them were assembled in one place and killed.
“This morning, the assembly member and adviser on legislative matters held a meeting and we communicated the development to the Commissioner of Police.
The council chairman who described the activities of bandits in the area as ‘guerrilla type of war’ said that the gunmen were ‘local terrorists.
“I no longer call them bandits because I’m seeing hands/ elements of terrorism in their activities. So to me I classify them as terrorists now.
”But they are terrorists within though they have external forces, those who are sponsoring and helping them to perpetrate the acts. The locals are the major people that are doing it,” the chairman said.
Efforts to speak with the Benue State Command spokesperson, Catherine Anene, were not successful as her phone rang out.
Meanwhile, the Security Adviser to the governor confirmed the incident.
