From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
More than 100 persons were at the weekend killed in four(4) council wards in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State by unknown gunmen.
Chairman of the local government, Alfred Atera who spoke on phone with newsmen, listed the council wards to include, Yooyo, Utange, Mbaturan/Mberev and Mbayongo.
He said people are trooping out in large number as the gunmen were shooting sporadically with people droping dead.
“I have videos of the incident. The gunmen have developed a strategy. They are not attacking one place. If they attack kwaanondo, the next thing you hear that they are attacking Utange. The military are going here and there but before they could get there, the gunmen have finished and gone to the next point. So, that is the situation in Katsina-Ala.
“We have reported to all security authorities about what is going on. Am in a meeting with my traditional rulers and putting heads together to see what we can do at our own level.
“Am not suspecting any military connivance but am suspecting bandits, the existing bandits. I think they are trying to get cheap pooularity. They are conniving to do that so that we could consider them which we have refused to do. It is better to die by herdsmen than allow our boys to kill us. The Gana remnants have connived with herdsmen to cause havoc and unrest in our area”, the council boss lamented.
All efforts made to.get confirmation of the incident from Police authorities proved abortive as the Police Public Relations Officer, PPPRO adamantly refused to pick several calls to her phone as well as respond to text message.
