From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
Gunmen as well as suspected cult groups, have reportedly killed over 27 people within two days Tse- Anule, Chito and Tse- Akosu communities in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State.
Our correspondent gathered that the gang groups carried out the acts on Saturday and Sunday, November 4 and 5, 2023.
It was gathered that at Tse- Anule, some cult boys stormed the area with motorcycles and after killing people, went and mounted roadblocks along Sankara and Ayati road and robbed unsuspecting road users for several hours unchallenged.
Sources from the area said the armed group came with different sophisticated guns and ammunition and ordered all the villagers who were relaxing at the drinking joint to lie down.
According to him, immediately the victims lied facedown, they opened fire on them, killing five persons on the spot.
Recall that not more than 22 persons were also reportedly killed in Chito and Tyo Akosu communities of same Ukum Local Government Area, LGA of the state as a result of a rival gang fight and attack on a drinking spot, bringing the total number of causalities to 27.
The fight was said to be between the notorious criminals armed groups known as “Chain Gang” and “Full Fire” which left about 15 able men dead while several others sustained various degrees of gun injuries.
One of the sources stated that the killings at Tyo Akosu settlement was perpetrated by unknown armed men who also stormed a drinking spot in the village and opened fire on unsuspecting customers at the bar.
He said he could not readily confirmed if the attack at Tyo Akosu was an extension of the Chito fight but noted that the suspicion among the locals was that the supremacy fight was fast spreading in the communities of the LGA.
Another source explained that, “it all started Friday afternoon during a fight for supremacy between kingpins of crime in Ukum LGA. They are known as Chain and Full Fire gangs with their operational base located in the LGA.
“Both of them are looking for each others necks. Full FIre employed the services of another banditry group to help kill the Chain gang who got wind of the plan and laid ambush for them.
“They opened fire and killed all of them. Some persons claimed that 10 persons were killed in the bloody fight while others said they counted 15 bodies.
“But it was an internal fight for supremacy among gangs and not a communal crisis. In fact the locals ran away because they feared for their lives. They feared that in the course of the reprisal, they might be affected despite being innocent.”
“Ukum has become hotbed of killings, we are all living in fear as we speak because we cannot tell who is who among our local boys,” he said.
When contacted, the Benue State Command Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), SP, Catherine Anene said she was yet to receive information on the incidents.
Meanwhile, the House of Assembly member for Ukum State Constituency, Hon. Ezra Nyiyongo, confirmed the killings saying government was looking into the matter with a view to address it.