Gunmen in the early hours of Tuesday killed seven Internally Displaced Persons(IDP)at the Abagena community housing camp in Makurdi Local Area of Benue State.
The attackers, according to Terhemba Aule who lost a relative, came into the camp at about 2am and began to shoot sporadically at anyone in sight.
He said at the end of their attack, seven people were killed and several others were wounded.
“We were still sleeping when we were awakened by sounds of gunshots. We started running for our lives but unfortunately, many people were killed and many others were wounded,” he said
The bodies of the victims have been deposited at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) while many who sustained injuries are receiving treatment.
Meanwhile, Governor Samuel Ortom who paid a visit to the camp, while addressing angry youth who protested and blocked the Makurdi -Lafia road with the dead bodies, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to live up to his responsibility of protecting Nigerians.
He described the attack on the IDP camp as inhuman, barbaric and unacceptable.
The governor who called for urgent action against the activities of militia herdsmen across the country said if the Federal Government had taken the issue of militia herders seriously, it wouldn’t have escalated to this level.
He lamented that in the last two weeks, over 70 persons had been killed in Makurdi Local Government alone while various communities across Benue were suffering from the same militia herdsmen.
Also, the Benue State Police have confirmed the attack.
According to the command PPRO, DSP Catherine Anene, the Police commissioner has visited the scene of the attack and investigations are going on.
