Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Gboko town in Gboko LGA, where seven men believed to be herdsmen were set ablaze.
The governor’s spokesman, Tahav Agerzua, said Ortom directed security agencies to man all strategic locations in the town to prevent a break down of law and order.
Furthermore, he appealed to the residents to comply with the curfew, adding that only essential workers with “convincing” identification were exempted from the curfew.
Meanwhile, speaking on the incident, the Benue State Police Command PRO, Moses Yamu, said the attack was orchestrated by “irate youth” in the town.
TheCable quoted Yamu as saying, “It was a skirmish at the Gboko Central Motor Park. The police immediately mobilised to the park but on getting there, we found that seven male adults, whose identities are yet to be ascertained, but believed to be Fulani by tribe, had been attacked, murdered and their bodies set ablaze by some irate Gboko youth in and around the motor park.”
The attack on the herdsmen is believed to be a fallout of recent attacks on Benue communities by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
Recall that 73 persons were killed in Guma and Logo LGAs by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen on New Year’s Day.