By Henry Ibya, Makurdi
Members of Mbaikyaor community, Mbalom in Gwer-East Local Government Area where about 15 persons were gruesomely murdered with several others sustaining various degrees of injuries by suspected Fulani herdsmen, has commended members of the joint forces for establishing a new outpost to forestall further attacks, killing of innocent people, stealing of food items and destruction of property.
A fleeing member of the Mbaikyaor, Mbalom who spoke with journalist in Makurdi on condition of anonymity, revealed that after the killings in March, the 4 special forces brigade led by Maj. Gen. H.E Nzan, accompanied by the commander sector 1 OPWS Benue State visited the troubled community where the team engaged affected community members in an interactive session with elders, traditional rulers, youths and other stakeholders in attendance to have firsthand information on remote causes of the attacks.
He affirmed that during the session the team discovered that some Fulani herdsmen on February 28 invaded the community with their cows grazing openly and described the development as right step in the right direction.
The eyewitness, a victim of the attack, in his account said community members told the team that the act of open grazing prompted them to arrest three of the herdsmen accused of not just grazing openly, but equally allowing their cows to feast on crops, adding that the villagers equally told the visiting team that the herders were handed over to the police at Aliade Divisional Headquarters.
The victim who said establishment of the outpost and deployment of men from the 4 Special Forces Brigade as well as operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS to Mbaikyaor, Mbalom, have prevented further attacks and restored confidence, quoted members of the forces for cautioning affected communities against taking laws into their own hands.