Emerging reports indicate that suspected herdsmen on Tuesday killed 15 people including two catholic priests in an early morning attack on a Catholic Church in Ayar-Mbalom, a community in Gwer East Local Government Area, Benue State. Terver Akase, a spokesperson to Governor Samuel Ortom, who confirmed the attack, said the attackers also burnt 50 houses and sacked the entire community, before escaping.
He identified the name of the church as St. Ignatius’ Catholic Church. He also gave the names of the murdered Catholic priests as Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha.
Efforts to reach Fatai Owoseni, the Benue police commissioner, and Moses Yamu, the command’s spokesperson, failed as they did not respond to calls put across to them, neither have they replied messages sent to their phone numbers.
Premiumtimes reports that the attack is coming barely four days after the murder of 10 persons by herdsmen in Guma Local Government Area, which has been one of the major scenes of carnage by suspected herdsmen since January 1.