No fewer than six persons have been reportedly killed by suspected herdsmen in the Kadarko community of Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

It was gathered that two residents were killed at the Tse-Abir Azer community in Kadarko on Friday, while three Tiv farmers were shot dead on Sunday in the area.

However, during the attack on Sunday, there was an alleged reprisal by the Tiv farmers, which led to the death of a suspected herdsman.

Confirming the incident on Sunday, the Chairman of the United Farmers Association in Kadarko, Denis Utsa, said the armed herdsmen invaded Tse-Abir Azer area of Kadarko around 4pm on Friday and unleashed mayhem on the people of the area.

He explained that apart from the two earlier killed by the bandits, many survivors of the attack escaped with gunshot wounds.

He identified the victims to include a clergyman, Pastor Kingsley Orshase, who he said later died at a hospital in Lafia on Saturday.

He said, “The victims had gone for fishing at a nearby river in the Tse-Abir Azer area when the armed herdsmen attacked them, resulting to the death of two persons.

“However, we heard that one of the herdsmen was also killed in a reprisal during the attack.

“At the moment, the killer herdsmen have invaded the IDPs rebuild settlements in Kadarko, and a dozen of the IDPs have fled to nearby communities, including Giza for refuge.

“We are appealing to the state government to urgently look into the matter so that we can have adequate security in the area,” he added.

As of the time of filing this report, efforts made to get the reaction of the Nasarawa State Police Command proved abortive as the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ramhan Nansel, did not respond to phone calls.

He also did not reply to text messages sent to his mobile line. (The PUNCH)

Update news