By Deborah Nnamdi
Barely a week after deadly violence in Plateau State, suspected gunmen have launched another attack in the Mbalom community of Gwer-East Local Government Area in Benue State, leaving nine people dead and one critically injured.
The Director General of the Bureau for Homeland Security in Benue, Air Commodore Jacob Gbamwuan (retd), confirmed the incident, which has heightened fears over the resurgence of coordinated attacks in the region.
Chairman of Gwer-East LGA, Timothy Adi, said nine bodies had been recovered, while a tenth victim survived but remains in critical condition. He disclosed that he had just visited the injured victim at the hospital.
A resident of Mbalom, identified as Philip, recounted that the attackers initially invaded the community in the early hours of Saturday but were repelled by local youths. However, the assailants reportedly returned later that night and carried out the deadly assault.
According to him, the community had received intelligence about a planned attack at least four days earlier and had alerted relevant authorities. He added that residents had also reported the presence of suspicious armed men before the incident.
Philip further explained that only men were affected in the attack, as women and children had been relocated from the community in anticipation of the assault due to previous experiences of similar violence.
Mbalom has a history of such attacks. On April 24, 2018, gunmen killed two Catholic priests and 17 worshippers during an early morning Mass at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in the community. The victims, including Rev. Fr. Joseph Gor and Rev. Fr. Felix Tyolaha, were later given a state burial.
Reacting to the latest incident, Governor Hyacinth Alia condemned the attack, describing it as heinous and unacceptable.
In a statement issued in Makurdi by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, the governor decried the killing of what he described as “peace-loving people” by suspected armed herdsmen.
Alia said the attack represents a direct threat to the peace and security of the state, adding that the government would not allow such acts of terror to persist.
He also expressed condolences to the families of the victims, noting with concern what he described as a pattern of calculated and selective attacks across parts of the state, and assured residents that efforts would be intensified to curb the violence.
