Approximately 40 people were feared dead in the Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State due to a clash between rival militia groups.
While most of the casualties were reportedly members of the militia groups, a family of seven and some farmers were also believed to have been killed during the crossfire.
Reports indicate that one of the leaders of a terrorist group hired external bandits to attack the Gbagir community in Ukum LG, leading to a violent confrontation with another militia leader in the area.
Most of the deceased individuals were associated with the rival militia groups, with around 12 farmers caught in the crossfire. The incident resulted in over 30 injuries and many others being declared missing.
According to a traditional ruler in the area who requested anonymity out of fear, a violent conflict began on Tuesday morning. The conflict started when a militia leader from Ukum LGA kidnapped another militia leader from the neighboring Chinkai community in Wukari LGA of Taraba State.
He said, “After kidnapping them, he asked for N100 million in ransom, but he was given N5 million. After collecting the money, he killed the hostages.
“The murder of the hostages sparked outrage among his gang members in Taraba State. This happened over the weekend.
“What followed was that another militia gang leader in Ukum now went and joined forces with the Fulani militia gang in Taraba to help them eliminate the rival gang in Ukum that killed their leader.
“The essence was to enable him to be the head of the militia in Ukum. The combined forces of Fulani and Tiv militia gangs started moving into the bushes of Gbagir in their hundreds on Sunday to sack the gang that killed the leader and on Tuesday morning, the bloody fight ensued.
“From what we gathered, over 40 persons who were mainly bandits have been killed, though we have a record of about 12 farmers who were caught in the crossfire. Over 30 others were injured while some are also missing.
“Sadly, caught in the crossfire was a family of seven in Tse Adzandeh Mbasaa, Mbajiga, Ityuluv, Torov. They were all members of the Adzandeh family.”
Nyiyongo Ezra, the lawmaker for Ukum State Constituency in the House of Assembly, mentioned that approximately 20 people were killed during the crisis, although he did not provide specific details.
He said, “For now, I cannot tell you the cause of the attack but the information I heard was that about 20 people were killed.”
Attempts to reach Major General Sunday Igbinomwanhia, the Force Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke, were unsuccessful. However, a military source in Makurdi informed journalists that some of the attacks in that area were carried out by local militiamen.
He said, “These are militia men killing themselves. Yes, we acknowledge that probably one or two people may have been caught in the crossfire, but the majority of the people that were killed are members of the militia gangs in the area.”
A military source, who did not disclose the number of casualties, stated, “Currently, we are in Kwande and are trying to contain the situation in the area and as you can see, calm has been restored to the area. We have been able to flush the herdsmen out of the area and I can assure you that normalcy will be restored.
“But be that as it may, our troops are in Ukum to ensure that the attack does not affect innocent people.”
At the same time, the state Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Adesina, did not provide specific information about the crisis but mentioned that additional officers have been sent to the area.
“So far, we have recovered five corpses but the search for people is ongoing,” he said.
