Nasarawa state police command has confirmed the killing of 27 herdsmen in an airstrike in Doma Local Government Area of the state.
DSP Ramhan Nansel, the Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO) told newsmen that preliminary investigation revealed that the incident occurred while the herdsmen were loading their cows seized by Benue state government into a vehicle.
The herdsmen had gone to Benue to pay fines for the release of cattle impounded by the Benue Livestock Guards implementing the State’s Anti-Open Grazing and Ranching Law.
Nansel said;
“While they were loading some of the cows into vehicles on Tuesday night in Kwatiri village, a border community between Benue and Nasarawa, something like a drone or an aircraft hovered in the air and shelled them.”
The police spokesperson said the Commissioner of Police, Maiyaki Mohammed-Baba, had visited the scene of the incident and also attended the burial of the deceased alongside the State Deputy Governor, Dr Emmanuel Akabe and some traditional rulers.
There is also an ongoing investigation to uncover those behind the act. Policemen have also been deployed to the area to prevent the breakdown of law and order.
