Three persons have been killed and one declared missing following a reprisal attack by suspected herders on Anwule Community, in Ohimini Local Government Area of Benue State.

The attack, which occurred on Tuesday, was triggered by the alleged murder of a Fulani herder by some suspected villagers in late August.

The tragedy traces back to late August, when a young Fulani herder was reportedly assaulted and killed by some villagers who accused him of grazing cattle on their farmland. His death, security sources say, was the spark that ignited the deadly cycle.

“They attacked the cattle, and in the process, the young boy herding them was killed,” a security source told Zagazola.

“Up till now, his body has not been found. That incident changed everything.”

After the killing, tension became the village’s new normal. Security sources said the herders launched a desperate search for the boy’s body, while villagers, anxious over possible retaliation, kept night vigils around the community.

Instead of de-escalation, the situation worsened. On Monday, some villagers reportedly launched another attack on herders in a separate encounter, killing more cattle and a Fulani herder.

“That second attack was the tipping point,” another source disclosed. “Once a human life was involved again, everyone knew a reprisal was almost certain.”

Before troops from the Army Forward Operating Base, Otukpo, could respond to distress calls from villagers, the attackers invaded Anwule, shooting sporadically and torching homes. When the gunfire stopped, three villagers – Simon Nbach, Adoya Ejigai and Ejeh Loko – lay dead. One resident is still missing, and community members fear he may also have been killed.

One Simon Nbach, who was later identified as a pastor of the Flaming Fire Ministry, was among those caught in the attack.

Troops later assisted locals in recovering the bodies. The villagers who survived now live in fear; many have fled to neighbouring communities, abandoning their farmlands and homes.

In the aftermath, senior government officials, including the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Mr. Joseph Har, and the Chairman of Ohimini LGA, Mr. Gabriel Adole, visited the community. They appealed for calm and promised reinforced security surveillance.

“We understand the grief and fear, but peace must be maintained. Security agencies are already on the trail of the perpetrators,” Har told the community leaders. (Zagazola, but headline rejigged)