Benue State has been in the news for the wrong reasons for more than one week after armed gangs took arms against each other in a fight for supremacy in Ukum Local Government Area of the state

Reports say the fight which started penultimate Thursday and Friday between the ‘Chain’ and ‘Full Fire’ gangs festered all through last weekend, lingering into the week and leaving over 40 persons dead and several others sustaining serious injuries.

The first day of the bloody encounter, it was learnt, recorded at least 22 deaths in Chito and Tyo Akosu communities.

A local source said, “It all started Friday afternoon and it was a fight for supremacy between kingpins of crime in Ukum LGA who are known as Chain and Full Fire gangs with their operational base located in the Council area

“Both of them are looking for each other’s neck. Full Fire employed the services of a banditry group to help kill the Chain gang who got wind of the plan and laid ambush for them.

“They opened fire and killed all of them. Some persons claimed that 10 persons were killed in the bloody fight while others said they counted 15 bodies.

“But it was a fight for supremacy among gangs and not a communal crisis. In fact, locals ran away because they feared for their lives. They feared that they might be caught in the cross-fire and reprisal despite being innocent.”

It was gathered that after the Chito exchange penultimate Friday evening, a gang of armed penultimate Saturday evening stormed a drinking spot at Tor Akosu village and opened fire on customers at the bar killing seven persons and injuring several others, some of whom later gave up the ghost before receiving medical attention.

The Sunday Vanguard source said, “Though we cannot say for sure that it was an extension of the supremacy fight, we cannot rule it out because that is what it looked like, and we cannot tell who belongs to whatever groups anymore.

“Ukum has become something else, we are all living in fear as we speak because we cannot tell who is who among our local boys.”


And just when the people were yet to come to terms with the outbreak of the bloody fight, three more persons were last Sunday reportedly killed at a gathering as armed men took the fight to Ayati community in the same Council area.

It was gathered that the spillover to Ayati was not envisaged by the people.

“Nobody expected it but information making the round was that the attack was an extension of the fight that started at the weekend in Chito and Tyo Akosu”, a local said.

“The fact is that we cannot tell who is sympathetic to any group and who is not.

“That is why the fight is getting messier and they are killing human beings as if they are animals.”

And while tension continued to mount in Chito, Tyo Akosu and Ayati communities, the bloody exchange last Monday shifted to Ukoosaa-Atam village in Sai, a community about one kilometer from Ayati.
A source in the area who disclosed that the armed men who belonged to one of the rival gangs sneaked into the community, stormed the village and opened fire on passengers on motorbikes and occupants of tricycles killing 10 of them and injuring others.

The source narrated, “The spot where the attack and killings happened on Monday evening was Ukoosaa-Atam which is just about one kilometer from Ayati town headquarters of Borikyo Council Ward of Ukum LGA.

“The armed men, who everyone suspected are part of the ongoing gang fight in Ukum, came on a Bajaj motorcycle to the village and opened fire on passengers of Keke NAPEP and commercial motorcycles, killing 10 persons while others sustained injuries.

“This is one among the several attacks that have been going on in Ukum communities recently and people are now forced to flee their homes for fear of being killed.

“But we must thank God that He has made them to turn their weapons against each other because in doing so we have some respite.

“We pray they continue to kill each other and maybe at the end of the day help us eliminate themselves for peace to reign in our communities. This could be a way of God fighting for us in Sankera comprising Ukum, Logo and Katsina-Ala LGAs where armed men have in the last 10 years reigned with impunity, killing at will and sacking communities for no justifiable reasons.”

bluefilm:
They should continue until they have completely eliminated each other.

Then we can have peace.

NorthernersSuck:
Stupid and lazy youths, so them have all that strength against themselves, but small small Fulani herdsmen terrorists wants to wiped them out of this planet without fighting back. They should keep their madness within their region, if them mistakenly cross the border near my beloved 042 Enugu state, them go collect more than wetin Fulani herdsmen dey give them. Bastardized idiots

NorthernersSuck:
Stupid and lazy youths, so them have all that strength against themselves, but small small Fulani herdsmen terrorists wants to wiped them out of this planet without fighting back. They should keep their madness within their region, if them mistakenly cross the border near my beloved 042 Enugu state, them go collect more than wetin Fulani herdsmen dey give them. Bastardized idiots

NorthernersSuck:
Stupid and lazy youths, so them have all that strength against themselves, but small small Fulani herdsmen terrorists wants to wiped them out of this planet without fighting back. They should keep their madness within their region, if them mistakenly cross the border near my beloved 042 Enugu state, them go collect more than wetin Fulani herdsmen dey give them. Bastardized idiots

Nukilia:
The military have a million and one reasons to restore sanity in this nation...

Hassanmaye:

Benue people will wipe you guys out.

Ifebi82:
Benuejosh , Omenka and others will avoid this thread like plague. Just mentioned South East, you will see them behaving like rabid dogs