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A barber identified as Thomas Edeh from Rijo community in Oge Council Ward of Ado Local Government Area of Benue State has been killed by suspected armed herdsmen in a renewed attack and several persons displaced.
Scores of people were also reportedly missing following the dastardly attack on the community by the killer herdsmen.
The incident occurred in the late hours on Tuesday when the invaders attacked the community, located some few kilometres from Igumale, headquarters of Ado LGA.
The victim, who is an indigene of Effium in Ebonyi State, had been residing in Rijo where he operated a barbing salon in the popular Idokpo Garri Market.
He was said to be on his farm when he was attacked and shot dead.
A community leader, who spoke to journalists in Makurdi on condition of anonymity, described the killing as unfortunate, alleging that herders had repeatedly stolen the victim’s farm produce despite his warnings.
“The herders have been stealing his farm produce. He persistently warned them to stop, but the best they could do was to eliminate him.
“Our people can no longer go to farms or markets. Children are afraid to attend school.
“Even riding motorcycles or bicycles to work in Igumale is risky because of fear of the unknown,” he said.
He called on the government at all levels to urgently deploy more security personnel to Ado council, particularly the Rijo community, to prevent further attacks.
Meanwhile the Chairman of Ado council, Mr. Sunday Oche, could not be reached to confirm the incident as of the time of this report.
However the incident was confirmed by the spokesperson of the Benue State Police Command, DSP Udeme Edet.
