At least nine people, including a police officer, have been confirmed dead following a string of coordinated attacks by suspected armed herdsmen in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.
The series of assaults, which reportedly began last Friday and continued through Tuesday, struck four separate communities within the troubled area.
Residents identified the affected villages as Okwutanobe, Okpokpolo, Olegagbani, and Ikpele.
According to local sources, the suspected attackers often enter Benue from neighbouring Kogi State, carry out their raids, and retreat afterward.
A resident identified as Odenyi described the sequence of the attacks: “The attacks started last Friday at Okwutanobe where two people were killed.
“On Saturday, they attacked Okpokpolo and killed one person. On Monday, the armed herders invaded Olegagbani and killed one person.
“Today (Tuesday), they attacked Ikpele, where they killed one police officer and four people.”
The Chairman of Agatu Local Government Area, James Melvin, confirmed the attacks, saying that nine people were killed across the four communities within three days.
“It’s true. I can confirm to you that four people were killed in Okwutanobe, Okpokpolo and Olegagbani, while five people, including a police officer, were killed in Ikpele today,” Melvin stated.
He suggested the attacks may have been retaliatory, possibly linked to allegations of cattle rustling made by herders.
“We condemn these attacks, and I think it was a reprisal to their earlier report of cattle rustling in Agatu communities,” he said.
“We are appealing to them to give the government time to investigate the alleged rustling instead of taking the law into their own hands.”
Just days before the latest attacks, the Benue State chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) raised alarm over the alleged rustling of about 340 cattle in Agatu during July.
The association’s secretary, Ibrahim Galma, accused criminals in the local government of being responsible for the theft.
Melvin also decried the state of roads in Agatu, which he said delay security response efforts.
“You know the roads in Agatu are bad. Even when the security men receive a distress call, it can take them up to four hours to navigate some areas due to the bad terrain, so the armed herders would wreak havoc and leave,” he explained.
The Benue State Police Command is yet to release an official statement on the incidents. The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Catherine Udeme Edet, said she had not received formal reports of the killings.
Agatu and other border communities in Benue have repeatedly suffered deadly invasions by suspected herdsmen.
In June, more than 200 people were killed in a midnight raid in Yelwata community. Similarly, in April 2024, 25 people died in attacks on Ugbobi and Odugbeho, while March saw deadly invasions across Apa and Otukpo LGAs.
The Benue State Government has continued to urge the federal government to intervene, citing the widespread impact of the violence on rural communities and food production.
Despite ongoing military operations under Operation Whirl Stroke in the Middle Belt, residents say the attacks persist with alarming frequency and impunity.
As tension escalates in Agatu and its surroundings, community leaders and civil society organisations have renewed calls for improved security deployment, faster response efforts, and lasting solutions to the farmer-herder conflict.