BENUE: Angry youths go haywire, kill 6 suspected herdsmen in retaliation
At least six persons were killed on Thursday when youths flooded the Npayango Federal Highway in Benue to protest the killing of locals by Fulani herdsmen.
Some villages in the Gwer Local Government Area of the state were reportedly attacked by suspected herdsmen on Wednesday night.
The youths, who had had enough of the killings, barricaded the highway and left several travellers stranded.
Six persons, suspected to be herdsmen, were killed in the process.
Benue Police confirmed the incident, saying it had to use “minimum force to disperse the protesters.”
The Command’s spokesperson, ASP. Joel Moses, said: “The youths barricaded the Npanyango Road and also killed six motorists who they suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, so we had to deploy our men who used minimum force to disperse them.”
Moses said the suspected herdsmen had, on Wednesday night, retaliated an earlier attack on their cattle by the youths.
He said a villager was killed by the suspected herdsmen, and his remains had been deposited at the Aliade General Hospital.
Some suspects were arrested in connection with Thursday’s unrest.
