Fulani herdsmen kill seven

Fulani herdsmen have attacked Gbise village in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State, killing seven people.

The attack on Gbise followed the killing of over 100 persons in two attacks on Vingir and Gawa, all in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area.

Gbise was reduced to ashes in the latest attack. Its market and shops which spread across the Katsina-Ala-Takum Road were also torched.

The Nation’s senior correspondent in Taraba State, Fanen Ihyongo’s father, Joshua Ihyongo, fled the village days before the attack.

His cousin, Tavershima Shenge, who witnessed the carnage, said the assailants, numbering over 300, came in two batches with sophisticated weapons.

“Some of the assailants were dressed in military uniform; others wore Hausa-Fulani dresses. They killed people and torched houses simultaneously.”

Governor Gabriel Suswam was at a funeral nearby, when the herdsmen struck at Gbise.
Suswam visited the scenes of destruction on his way to the Government House.

The governor’s visit did not deter the assailants, who continued their onslaught throughout the night.
Our correspondent said he received midnight calls from fleeing residents.

A resident, Wilfred Moughna, said gunshots were heard throughout the night.

Moughna, who called our correspondent at 2:45am, said the marauders laid siege to the suburbs of Tor-Donga –another settlement.

He said many residents were looking for vehicles to leave the area. They gathered at a Catholic church, where a cleric prayed for them.

A source said some soldiers watched as the herdsmen destroyed Gbise.

He said the attackers are Fulani, although there were mercenaries with them.

The Fulani have claimed responsibility for the Gbise invasion, including all the attacks on Tiv settlements in Benue and Taraba, saying they are on a revenge mission.

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