More security operatives have been deployed to the troubled Ojantele and Okpette communities in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State, which were attacked on Friday.

The spokesperson for the state command, DSP Udeme Edet, said this in a statement issued and made available to journalists on Saturday.

While confirming the armed herders’ invasion of the communities on Friday, at a time when farmers were reportedly working on their farms, Edet said six bodies had been recovered from the attack.

He said that the joint security teams, comprising operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, the military, and local youths from the affected communities, immediately mobilised into the forest to carry out search and rescue operations with the aim of locating victims and apprehending the perpetrators.

“At the end of the initial operation, six lifeless bodies were recovered. Efforts are ongoing to ensure the safety of residents in the affected communities.

“The Commissioner of Police in the state, Ifeanyi Emenari, assured the public that reinforcements have been sent to facilitate a more thorough and coordinated operation in the affected forests with the aim of tracking down those responsible for the attack.

“In the meantime, patrols have been intensified across the affected communities and the entire state to prevent any further attacks and to reassure residents of the continued readiness of security operatives to always confront such attacks,” the statement read in part.

–Source: punch.