The police in Benue have confirmed the killing of eight persons in a suspected terrorist attack on a rural community in the Otukpo Local Government Area of the state.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Cletus Nwadiogbu, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.
Nwadiogbu said the victims comprised five adults and three children.
He said he had spent most of the day in the affected community alongside other security personnel to assess the situation and restore calm.
“We have been in the interior since morning. The network was poor because we were in the bush.
“Some people were killed, and the youths became violent.
“We have been engaging them, and they have now agreed to reopen the road. They are only waiting for water tankers to extinguish the fire,” he said.
The police commissioner said investigations were ongoing to determine whether the latest attack was connected to previous killings in the area.
“We cannot say for now whether it is connected to previous attacks or whether the terrorists simply wanted to achieve their aim,” he said.
He, however, described the incident as “purely a terrorist attack.”
According to him, the attackers employed guerrilla tactics, striking the community before fleeing into nearby forests.
“They operate in the guerrilla warfare style. Once they attack, they immediately disappear into the woods, making it difficult to apprehend them,” Nwadiogbu said.
He assured residents that security agencies were intensifying efforts to track the attackers and prevent further attacks in the area. (NAN)
