The number of fatalities from the recent herdsmen attacks on Ukum and Logo local government areas in Benue State has increased to 20, as both security operatives and local residents continue to search for survivors in the affected areas.
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, disclosed the updated casualty figures during a phone interview with Channels Television on Saturday. He mentioned that five bodies were initially recovered in Gbagir and taken to a morgue. Subsequently, local residents searching for missing persons found two additional bodies.
The governor also noted that a family in Gbagir was allowed to conduct a brief burial for a relative, with support from security forces.
In Logo, where attacks occurred simultaneously, the police recovered 12 more bodies, which were also taken to a mortuary. This brings the confirmed death toll from the coordinated attacks by suspected herdsmen in the Sankera region to 20.
The state government reaffirmed its commitment to protecting lives and property, encouraging residents to share useful information with security agencies to help combat insecurity.
This update follows a statement from the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, Sewuese Anene, on Friday. According to Anene, the police received intelligence that a large group of armed men had invaded the Sankera area. In response, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, CP Steve H. Yabanet, directed tactical teams to join existing forces and repel the attack in Gbagir, where five people had already been killed.
Anene explained that while police engaged the attackers, they shot at unsuspecting farmers in the area. In addition to the five deaths in Gbagir, 12 more people were killed in Logo before police could intervene, bringing the total to 17 as of Friday. Security forces are still pursuing the attackers as they retreat into the forest bordering Taraba State.
The Commissioner warned against spreading unverified information on social media, which could incite panic, and emphasized ongoing efforts to apprehend the attackers. He urged residents to cooperate with the police.
Meanwhile, the violence in Benue has also extended to Otukpo Local Government Area, where suspected herdsmen launched attacks on at least three communities—Emichi, Odudaje, and Okpamaju—resulting in five deaths in February. These incidents followed the earlier killing of 11 individuals in Otobi community, also in Otukpo.
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