By Peter Duru, Makurdi
Is Benue under the siege of Fulani herdsmen? That seems  to be the question on the lips of every concerned citizen who has been following the recent bloodbath that engulfed parts of the state in the unending skirmishes between native Tiv Communities and Fulani herdsmen.

In recent times, no fewer than 2,000 lives have been lost to the carnage that has taken a dangerous dimension. From Gwer West in Gwer, Makurdi to Guma,  it has been tales of woe and outrageous,  senseless killings of women, children and the elderly by the marauding herdsmen who have no regards for the sanctity of human life.

However, last Sunday night’s attack on five communities in Gwer West local government of the state that claimed the lives of over 46 persons including 21 women and children remains the most dastardly and heart rending in the killings that has trailed the bloodbath in the hinterlands of the state.

There in no gainsaying that these recurrent attacks allegedly carried out by the herdsmen in collaboration with some mercenaries has suddenly turned the rural communities into theaters of war resulting in an unprecedented number of casualties and deaths.

*Some of the survivors

In fact, the outcry that trailed the recent attack on Tse-Ayande, Chille, Mma-Kpe, Tse-Gboku, Tse-Kpar and several other communities all in Gwer West local government is a pointer to the level of  killings and destruction metted on the communities by the herdsmen and their cohorts.

When Saturday Vanguard visited the communities few days ago, it was indeed a sorry site considering the manner corpes and relics of the carnage littered the affected communities.

It was to say the least a genocide of some sort against defenseless women, children and the elderly who were slaughtered like animals with their belongings, homes, farmlands and farm produce destroyed.

One of the survivors of the onslaught, 18 year old Member Iyor who sustained a deep cut on her head narrated her ordeal as she shed tears.

According to her, the attackers stormed her village in an unprovoked attack at the early hours of Sunday night in their hundreds, burning down houses, economic trees and killing any living object in sight.

Member who said she lost her loved ones to the crisis, explained that she managed to escape to safety after the attackers had mistaken her  for dead.

”They hit me on the head with a cutlass and when I fell down in a poll of blood, they left thinking I was dead. But I managed to escape to safety when they left my area”, she said.

She also disclosed that many members of her community are yet unaccounted for, pleading that the federal government intervenes  to assist the state and local government find lasting solution to the crisis.

Another survivor of the attack who gave his name as Musa claimed he was kidnapped in Nasarawa State by the Fulanis and has been a cow tender for the herdsmen when he was barely six years.

He disclosed that the  attackers who were armed with AK47 riffles and other dangerous weapons were mobilized from neighboring Nasarawa State.

He said that the plot was for the total occupation of the affected communities after the native inhabitants have been exterminated and sacked from their farmlands.

In his comment after a tour of the besieged communities, the Chairman of Gwer West Local Government, Mr. Andrew Ayande who fought back tears as he spoke described the attack on the communities as barbaric, wicked and heart rending.

Ayande who lamented that the recent attack on his people came on the hills of similar attacks few months ago said the  invaders stormed the communities in a commando fashion, killed, destroyed and maimed any living object  they came across.

According to him, “The most pathetic aspect of the attack was the beheading of a three months old baby that the mercenaries snatched from her mother and beheaded, after asking the nursing mother to run into a burning hut, but luckily, she escaped after the attackers mistook her for dead”.

While lamenting the extent of the carnage, Ayande disclosed that prior to the weekend attack on his people, he held several meetings with the leaders of the Fulani herdsmen who had promised to ensure peaceful co existence with their host communities as they graze their cows.

He said however, that “The promise was just a  ploy by the Fulanis to let my people off their guard in order to unleash this devastating attack on them”.

Ayande said  most of the surviving victims of the attack are currently taking refuge in neighboring communities where the local government council and the state government have made arrangements to provide relief materials for their upkeep.

The Chairman who said he suspected the influence of Boko Haram sect in the attack, said the mercenaries who stormed the Tiv communities in their hundreds, launched the attack from neighboring Nasarawa State and beat a retreat thereafter.

”Their  is an element of Boko Haram in what is happening; their mission is to occupy our communities and use it as a launch pad in the state”, Ayande said.

He however disclosed the State Government has ensured the re-enforcement of security in the area to forestal further bloodshed.

Ayande further disclosed that Governor Gabriel Suswam has already directed the State Emergency Management Agency to move in to provided succour to the effected persons.

The Chairman said the local government on it’s part has commenced the distribution of relief materials to the displaced persons who are currently taking shelter in neighbouring communities and with relatives in Naka, the local government Headquaters.

Ayande who assured that the people of the area would continue to maintain the peace in the face of the unprovoked attack  urged the Federal Government to take necessary action to address the recurrent attack on his people adding, “The losses suffered by my people in human lives and property should be adequately compensated after peace and normalcy is restored in the affected areas”, he added.

Some of the survivors of the attack who are camped at the Gwer West LGC Chairman’s residence in Naka.