9 Killed in Fresh Herdsmen Attack on Benue Communities Despite Security Deployment

At least nine farmers were killed on Friday afternoon in coordinated attacks by suspected herdsmen on two communities in Benue State, despite the presence of security forces in the region.

The deadly incidents occurred in Ayilamo, Tombo ward of Logo Local Government Area, and in Jato-Acka, Kwande Local Government Area.

Eyewitnesses reported that more than 20 armed men stormed Jato-Acka around 4pm, firing indiscriminately at residents and setting homes ablaze.

Six people were killed on the spot. Meanwhile, shortly after the Jato-Acka attack, the assailants advanced to Ayilamo through the Ikyungwa axis, where they reportedly killed three more individuals, including an officer of the Benue State Livestock Guard.

A community leader in Ayilamo, Tyovenda Igyutu, credited the timely intervention of security operatives —comprising soldiers and police — for preventing further bloodshed. “Ayilamo could have been completely overrun if not for the swift response of the troops,” he said.

The latest violence adds to the toll of lives lost in recurring clashes between herdsmen and farming communities in Benue, a state at the centre of Nigeria’s farmer-herder conflict.