Dashing Details

According to one of the locals who identified himself as Torkuma Jande, the invaders had stormed the community at about 6pm shooting sporadically in all directions before being repelled by other security forces stationed around the area.

“It was about 6pm on Wednesday evening that we suddenly started hearing sounds of gunshots around our community. Some of the security forces around the area were alerted and they immediately moved towards the direction of the firing and pushed back the attackers.

“We also alerted troops of the OPWS who are stationed at neighbouring Umenger and Ukaa communities but before they could reach there, the herdsmen had fled back to their camp located towards Nasarawa State.

“I believe the troops of OPWS were not satisfied with the incidence and they decided to go after the herdsmen searching for them till early hours of this morning when they stormed into their camp near the Benue/Nasarawa boundary in Keana”, Jande said.

Another villager living close to the area who ran to Umenger for safety, Mrs. Dorcas Mdzer said she sighted the soldiers destroying the camp of the armed herdsmen and burning everything in sight.

Mrs. Mdzer who ran from the affected community to Umenger village said she was preparing for evening meal for her family when she heard gunshots close to their house.

“On looking closely, I saw some soldiers exchanging gunfire with some herdsmen who had built tents in our village. When the sounds of gunshots became too intense, I gathered my children and ran towards Umenger.

“After sometime, we saw the soldiers with some dead bodies in their vehicle heading towards Daudu.

Efforts to get the reaction of the Force Commander of OPWS, Maj. Gen. Adeyemi Yekini failed as he neither picked his calls nor responded to text messages sent to his cellphone.