Suspected herdsmen on Tuesday killed two soldiers and seven villagers, including the village head of Eguma village in the Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.

A former lawmaker, who represented the local government at the Benue State House of Assembly between 2011 to 2019, Audu Sule, in a telephone call with our correspondent in Benue said the suspended herdsmen came into Eguma village at 3 pm and started killing people.

According to Sule, military personnel who are stationed at his village in Ogwule, a few meters away, responded to the distress call from Eguma village, but two of the soldiers were killed by the suspended herdsmen, along with Eguma village head and six others, bringing the casualty figures to nine.

Sule noted that the attack was the fourth on Eguma and Ogwule villages of Agatu local government area in the last month, lamenting the security threats his people faced daily.

He notes that the military intervention led to a gun battle with the suspected herdsmen who fled, after nine persons, including two soldiers, were killed.

When contacted, a police spokesperson in the state, Sewuese Anene, said the command was yet to receive any information on the killing or any shared intelligence with the military on the Agatu attacks. (Channels TV, excluding headline)