Armed herdsmen attack, disrupt church crusade in Nasarawa community

Suspected armed herdsmen on Monday evening attacked Agboda community in Mararaba Udege, Nasarawa Local Government Area of Nasarawa State and macheted one person on his way to a church crusade on the head, which disrupted the gathering.

The organiser of the crusade, Dr. Daniel Ukpo, who spoke to our reporter on the phone, lamented the level at which herdsmen carry out attacks without restraint in the Mararaba Udege axis

“The incident happened between 7p.m. and 8p.m. at Agboda in Mararaba Udege, when we gathered for a church crusade and suddenly people started running for safety as the news of an attack on the community by herdsmen filtered in.

“One of the youths in the community was attacked with a machete while on his motorcycle, and his attackers seized his motorcycle. When the news got to the village where we were holding the crusade, confusion set in, and people started running in different directions.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We had to end the crusade abruptly as already, everywhere was tense and people started running helplessly for safety,” Ukpo added that what escalated the confusion was the frequency at which herdsmen attack and kill the villagers.

“I went to a community called Ochimi to preach, and the traditional ruler confessed to me that I should pray for them because herdsmen are eating their crops and killing his people.”

Ukpo noted that security presence was grossly lacking to help.

He recalled that some days ago, somebody was butchered to death by armed Fulani.

“People are being killed on the road, farms and are not reported. The killing in this axis is worrisome. The government must come to the rescue of these communities. There were times we organised crusades and Fulani herders stopped us from proceeding, not onc,e not twice.

“The sad thing is that nobody is here to challenge these armed herdsmen who are destroying farms and communities in this axis. The people here are tired, but because they do not have anywhere to relocate, they are just here at the mercy of armed herdsmen.”