Scores killed, others injured as suspected Fulani herdsmen storm market in Benue village

Gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen reportedly attacked Jor Market in Mbilawa, Udam, Avihijime Ward, in Gwer-West Local Government Area of Benue State, killing many unarmed civilians.

Facebbok user, Udam Samuel Aseer, whose family members survived the attack, said the assailants invaded the market located along Naka-adoka road on Tuesday afternoon, March 7, 2023.

“A gang of heavily armed herdsmen came with cutlasses, guns other sophisticated weapons at about 2pm today, 7th March, 2023 and started killing people from house-to-house secretly & silently at Tse-Agema until one man they killed shouted before death (a loud voice that alerted neighbors to start running out while at that time, the herdsmen had already captured Tse-Umile, Tse-Jor and the entire Jor market along Naka-Adoka road on a genocidal mission that claimed many lives,” he wrote on Facebook.

“At the time of filing this report, there was no way for us to go to the village (my ancestral home, Mbilawa) to evacuate corpse(s) of those killed to Naka town mortuary, the headquarters of Gwer-West LGA.

“Attached to this post is the picture of one of my relatives that narrowly escaped death in the hands of the heavily armed Fulani militias, but sustained injuries among many other victims receiving treatment at a private hospital in Naka.”