Six persons, including two teachers of the Makurdi Local Government Education Authority, were reportedly killed by Fulani herdsmen near Ikpayongo, Gwer Local Government Area of Benue State.
A source told our correspondent that the victims were among the 10 persons who had gone to assess farmland for rice cultivation under the umbrella of a cooperative society on Wednesday but were ambushed and shot at.
The source said four of the teachers managed to escape with wounds, while six others were killed and their bodies dismembered by the herdsmen.
It was gathered that the remains of the deceased were found on Thursday with the assistance of some security operatives.
Sources from the area gave the names of two of the deceased as Mr Stephen Tavaku, headteacher at St. Mary’s Primary School, North Bank, Makurdi, and Mr. Christian Anankpa, a PhD student of ABU, Zaria, who was the Basic Science teacher, St. Mary’s UBE Junior Secondary School, North Bank, Makurdi.
Emerald Anyaogu, a close associate of Tavaku, while confirming the incident to journalists, said, “I never knew that my meeting with Mr Tavaku in his office that day was going to be the last. I went to see him with some journalists about an issue in the school. He looked so excited that day and attended to them well. He was such a nice man.”
A colleague of Anankpa said, “Ten people, four of whom were teachers, formed the cooperative and went to assess the farmland where they are expected to cultivate rice when the herdsmen pounced on them.
“Four people were able to escape, but on Thursday, we discovered the bodies of the victims. Two of them were teachers.”
Meanwhile, efforts to get the police to confirm the killings failed as the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, did not return his calls.
