Three people have been killed and two others injured following fresh attacks allegedly carried out by suspected armed herders in Elulu and Agadagba communities of Ohimini Local Government Area, Benue State.

The attacks were said to have taken place in separate incidents between Friday and Saturday night after armed assailants reportedly invaded the two communities.

A resident of Agadagba, identified only as Ameh, told journalists by telephone on Sunday that the attackers struck Elulu on Friday before returning to Agadagba the following night.

According to Ameh, the suspected herders attempted to steal cattle during the Saturday night attack but encountered resistance from local youths.
“The Fulani herdsmen attacked our community (Agadagba) yesterday night and attempted to rustle cows. In the process, some youths repelled them. But some of the attackers who were well armed, shot at the youths and two of them died. It was later we learnt that the same Fulani heresy had, a day earlier, invaded Elulu village where they killed one person.

Council Chairman Confirms Incidents

The Chairman of Ohimini Local Government Area, Gabriel Adole, confirmed both attacks during a telephone conversation on Sunday, stating that the violence occurred across Friday and Saturday night.

Adole said the attackers first invaded Elulu on Friday, where one resident was killed while another was attacked and had his Bajaj motorcycle stolen.

He explained that the suspects later moved to Agadagba to rustle cattle but were prevented by residents, during which one person was shot in the leg. The attackers reportedly returned to the village on Saturday and killed two more people.

“As I am talking to you, I am preparing to go to the communities to commiserate with them. So far, three lives were lost in the attacks. They injured two persons — the one whose motorcycle they took and the one they attacked while attempting to rustle his cows. Both of them are still in hospital receiving treatment,” Adole said.

Security Deployed as Calm Returns

The council chairman said local security operatives, working alongside the police, had been deployed to the affected communities to forestall further violence.

He added that the security presence had helped restore gradual normalcy in the affected areas.

Ohimini Local Government Area has experienced repeated attacks in recent weeks. Some residents have associated the renewed violence with the killing of the Benue State Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Risku Mohammed, on June 24, 2026.

Efforts to obtain a response from the Benue State Police Command were unsuccessful, as calls to the phone of the command’s spokesperson, DSP Udeme Edet, were not answered.