Days after the attacks by suspected herdsmen on some communities in four council wards of Katsina-Ala local government area of Benue State, domestic animals have reportedly taken over the area as the people of the affected communities were said to have deserted their homes.
Chairman of the council, Alfred Atera who stated this in a telephone chat with newsmen on Wednesday said thousands of people from the affected communities have all ran away for fear of further attacks by the invaders whom they suspect, might still be lurking around in the communities.
Atera who gave an update on the attack disclosed that he visited Utange Council Ward on Tuesday and discovered that the whole communities in the ward had been deserted. Utange is one of the four council wards that were attacked by the gunmen suspected to be Fulani herders.
He however noted that the atmosphere in Utange ward was calm during the visit but added that the communities had been taken over by domestic animals.
“For now there is nothing happening, the atmosphere is calm. I went to Utange Council Ward which is one of the four wards affected and I discovered that everybody has run away.
“All the houses in the Council Ward are intact but no human beings were found in communities. All I saw were domestic animals that took over the communities.
“There are domestic animals everywhere and there are no humans beings in the villages. The locals ran away from their ancestral homes, it is that bad,”
Atera said.
He said the displaced people are now taking refuge in are in Abaji, Tor Donga, and Hahaha as well as Katsina-Ala, the headquarters of the local government.
“Everywhere is filled with human beings who ran from their communities. The people told me that Fulani people were in the bushes chasing them, though I did not see any of them.
“There are people taking refuge in Abaji, Tor Donga, and Haaga. They are occupying these places and villages that are close to the major road for fear of being killed.”
The council boss lamented that the development has negatively affected farming activities in the area as farmers can no longer go to their farms.
“As we speak no farming activity is going on in the villages I visited because the people have fled.
“Security personnel are already patrolling the communities. I also requested that the Police and troops of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) be deployed to Abaji in order to protect the community and the main market,”
the chairman said.
