Fresh violence in Benue as gunmen kill 11 in Afia Community attack

Barely a week after over 50 farmers were killed by suspected armed herders in Benue State, another deadly attack occurred in the early hours of Tuesday in Afia community, Ukum Local Government Area, leaving 11 residents dead and several others injured.

The traditional ruler of Ukum, His Royal Highness Chief Iyorkyaa Kaave, confirmed the incident in Makurdi while addressing a security meeting aimed at tackling the rising violence in the area.

Chief Kaave described the attack as both unprovoked and part of a broader plan to forcefully take over farmlands belonging to indigenous residents.

“These attacks started on Thursday in Logo and by Good Friday had spread to several parts of Ukum.”

“We are still discovering bodies, while many of our people remain missing,” he revealed.

He explained that Tuesday’s attack was particularly devastating, with armed men storming Afia community at dawn, shooting indiscriminately at residents.

Eleven people were reportedly killed on the spot, while many others sustained various injuries.

The monarch expressed concern that the pattern of violence suggests a deliberate campaign to displace local farmers and seize their lands.

“These people are not the Fulani we knew back in the 70s and 80s, who lived peacefully among us.”

“What we now face are armed men with AK-47 rifles, attacking people in their homes and returning to occupy their communities,” Kaave lamented.

He appealed to President Bola Tinubu to take urgent and decisive action, warning against any negotiation with the attackers.

“The president must know we cannot settle with murderers.”

“These people have a clear, dangerous agenda: to kill, displace, and occupy,” he stressed.