A purported notice of attack issued by suspected Fulani herdsmen to communities in a local government area contiguous to Makurdi, the Benue State capital, caused panic on Friday in the state.
Although the police said security has been beefed up in the area, residents have reportedly fled some of the threatened communities.
It was gathered that a threat letter giving notice of an impending attack was delivered to one of the communities in Gwer West Local Government Area, which shares boundaries with the state capital.
Coincidentally, three persons were reportedly killed and three others injured on Thursday night, when suspected herdsmen invaded Tsukwa Village in the troubled Logo Local Government Area.
The spokesman of the Benue State Police Command, Moses Yamu, said the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, had led officers of the command to the area to douse tension, adding that more policemen had been drafted to the area.
The local council chairman, Mr. Richard Nyajo, reportedly said that the herdsmen laid an ambush for the victims: “The herdsmen hid in a forest opposite the Redeemed Christian Church of God and opened fire on the unsuspected victims.”
According to him, the herdsmen shot down two persons on a motorcycle who died instantly, and also shot at another group of four passersby, killing one and injuring three others.
The local council chairman further explained that among the four passersby that were shot were two Hausa traders, adding that, “it was one of the survivors that told the story that their attackers were herdsmen.
“One of the victims who lost his life has since been buried according to Muslim rites while the other two bodies have been deposited in the morgue.
“The herdsmen had, between 7pm-8pm, on Thursday, laid ambush in Kukwa near the Redeemed Christian Church of God, located along Anyiin-Ayilamo road, where they shot six passersby killing three persons, while three others who sustained severe injuries have been taken to NKST hospital Ugba for treatment.”
Anyiin-Ayilamo is the country-home of the immediate past governor of the state, Gabriel Suswam and it has one of the biggest Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, serving as a base for the special force sent to the area to maintain peace.