A family that had already lost a father to herdsmen violence has now been wiped out entirely.
Suspected armed herders killed a widow and her three children in Benue State on Tuesday, attacking Imande Dem settlement in Guma LGA at around 2:00 a.m. while residents slept.
The victim, Utsuwa Chicha, had already lost her husband to a previous herdsmen attack, leaving her alone with three sons, all of whom are now dead.
A Family Erased — The Full Story
Community source Orfankwagh confirmed to BusinessDay that gunmen forced their way into the widow’s home before dawn, killing her and all three children.
A fourth child sustained bullet wounds and is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital. Security operatives and local residents worked together to evacuate the victims’ remains from the scene.
Part of a Wider, Escalating Pattern
This attack follows the killing of over 20 farmers in Agena Community, Gwer-East LGA — just 48 hours earlier.
BusinessDay reports that herdsmen attacks in Benue tend to surge at the start of the cropping season, driving mass displacement across farming communities.
Residents in multiple areas continue to flee their homes, with anxiety deepening across the state.
Efforts to reach the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, Udeme Edet, were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
The Bigger Crisis
Benue State sits at the heart of Nigeria’s farmer-herder conflict which is one of the most deadly recurring crises in the country’s Middle Belt region.
Despite an anti-open grazing law and repeated government assurances, the violence has continued unabated, with communities bearing the heaviest cost.