From Chijioke Agwu, Abakaliki
Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen yesterday attacked Odoke, Ndiobasi and Obakotara communities in Ebonyi local government area of Ebonyi state, killing 30 persons.
Sources in the area said the gunmen struck the three communities around 3am yesterday morning.
The communities share boundaries with Ado local government area in Benue State.
A resident of the area, Uchenna Okpokwu, said the herdsmen invaded the area with guns and machetes:”They came into Ndiobasi village and started slaughtering the people. After slaughtering them, they entered Odoke, from that Odoke, they went to Obapta. Currently, people that were slaughtered in Ndiobasi are up to 30 according to the video clips on the incident ,but Odoke and Obapta are very far and nobody was able to enter those two villages to capture those that were killed.
“When I received call from one of my villagers over the attack, he told me that the herdsmen are currently at Ojaba forest and that the place is their hideout because there is no other way for them to escape. The herdsmen are currently in that forest as at the time I was called on phone. I have been trying to reach my family members on phone but their lines are not through and all of them are in the village”, he said.
Another resident of the area, Onyibe Jeremiah, lamented that no action was taken to protect the communities despite earlier warnings of the impending attacks:”One young man from Enugu State that saw the herdsmen when they were coming into Ebonyi villages made the voice call that went viral to alert the state, but it appears that it was ignored which was why these attacks were recorded despite the alert. Nobody took that voice serious and the herdsmen came and killed not less than 30 people. They are currently attacking more villages.”
The Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team (AMURT) confirmed that two children were killed while being taken to the hospital for treatment. In a short message shared on its Facebook page, AMURT said a total of 11 victims were rushed to their centre for medical attention: “It was terrible scenes at Ohagelode Health Center this morning. An attack on an Izzi village inside Benue State, allegedly by herdsmen, resulted in many casualties. “