It was a weekend of tragedies as seven persons were killed in separate incidents in Kano and Ubali/Gbajor village, in the Nzorov Council Ward of Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. The tragic incident in Kano involved a housewife, Fatima Abubakar, who was slaughtered alongside her five children while her infant was thrown into a well by yet to be identified assailants in the Dorayi Chiranci area of the Kano metropolis, on Saturday.
Residents who woke up to the incident explained that the unknown assailants allegedly slaughtered the woman and her five children before throwing her infant into a well in the compound, as police have launched an investigation into the unfortunate incident.
The exact circumstances surrounding the attack, including the time it occurred and the motive behind it, remained unclear as authorities continue to gather information. Residents of Dorayi Chiranci described the incident as horrifying and unprecedented, expressing fear and grief over the violent loss of lives.
Many have called for increased security in the area and urged law enforcement agencies to act swiftly to bring those responsible to justice. Already, there is serious tension in the area, with many locals taking some precautionary measures against the unfortunate unforeseen circumstances.
The Police have taken over the house by cordoning it off, while the bodies of the victims were taken away. Police Spokesperson, CSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, confirmed the incident, assuring that the perpetrators would soon be apprehended and brought to book.
In a similar incident, gunmen believed to be Fulani terrorists butchered a farmer to death in Ubali/Gbajor village, in Nzorov Council Ward of Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. The farmer, identified as Terlumun Mpev, aka Alhaji, had received reports that herdsmen were sighted letting their herds of cattle eat his guinea corn farm.
He hurriedly went to the farm with his son, Soonen Mpev. On spotting the herders and confirming the reports, Mpev reportedly approached the herdsmen and humbly pleaded with them to allow him harvest the crop first. He was said to have promised them that after harvest, he would leave a large quantity of the chaff for the cows to feed on.
Sunday Telegraph gathered that Mpev’s plea with the assassins rather angered them as they pounced on him and butchered him into pieces before leaving the scene. However, his son managed to escape and ran to the community, where he informed family members.
A resident said that the incident sent deep fear into the spines of residents of Nzorov Community, with farmers now scared of going to the farms for fear of a similar attack and killing by the herders. The source further raised the alarm over the massive influx of herdsmen in Gbajimba town in the last couple of days, saying there was no clear reason as to why such a massive population of herders would arrive in large numbers.
He noted that if left unchecked, the number of herders coming to the town may outnumber the indigenous people of the town. “Usually, they have a modus operandi. Before any deadly attack on communities, Fulani herdsmen often arrived in large numbers, we are living in fear presently”, the source said.
He appealed to the state government to intensify efforts to protect the people of the state to enable them continue with their farming activities.
