Over 100 persons have been reportedly killed by suspected herdsmen in Katsina-Ala Local Council of Benue State.
It was gathered that the killings by the marauding herders started on Friday night till yesterday morning.
Residential houses were reportedly set ablaze and farms destroyed.
Chairman of Katsina-Ala Local Council, Alfred Atera, who confirmed the fatality figure, listed the areas affected to include, Yooyo, Utange, Mbatura/Mberev and Mbayongo.
Atera lamented that his people were scampering for safety as the armed herdsmen shot sporadically and littered dead bodies.
On Sunday, about 8.00 p.m., 17 persons were reportedly killed in Dong Village of Jos South Local Council by suspected herders, according to locals.
The Plateau State Police Command confirmed seven people dead in the incident.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Ubah Ogaba, said: “The command received a distress call that gunmen came out suddenly from a nearby bush, invaded Dong Village, and killed seven persons.
“A combined team of policemen, special task force known as Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) and vigilante operatives, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Department of Operation, raced swiftly to the scene, but the hoodlums had already fled back into the bush.”
He added that the investigation was ongoing.
Reacting to the incident, the Plateau State Government expressed sadness by the recurrence of violence in parts of Dong Kasa in Jos North Local Council and Kwi in Riyom on Sunday night, where innocent citizens, including children and women, were murdered in cold blood.
The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dan Manjang, stated yesterday that the act was barbaric, callous and a desperate attempt to rupture the peace and security of the state.
