Suspected herdsmen behead farmer in Benue, chop off hand

A middle-aged man, Gabriel Vandefan, has reportedly been killed and beheaded by suspected armed herdsmen on his farm in Uikpam community, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

His assailants also allegedly chopped off one of his hands and went away with it.

Uikpam community is home to a large number of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, who were earlier sacked from their ancestral homes by marauding herdsmen.

The gruesome murder occurred less than a week after the community was thrown into panic following the sound of heavy gunfire near the community’s market square, which caused residents and IDPs to scamper for safety.

A resident of the community, who gave his name as James, said the deceased had gone to his farm, not far from his residence, to harvest millet when he was attacked.

“He simply went to harvest millet from his farm that is just a stone throw from his house this afternoon around 12 noon when armed herdsmen caught him.

“He actually brought home the first batch of the bags of millet and went back to move the rest when no one saw him again.

“After waiting for some hours, his family members became worried. They went searching for him only to discover his lifeless body in the farm.

“Sadly they killed him and beheaded him. They also cut off one of his hands and went away with it. It is so disheartening to see this happening here in Uikpam because we have large number of IDPs in this community. Everyone is worried for their safety at the moment.

“The IDPs themselves have become unsettled because of this development. And for a long time now people do not sleep in Uikpam, they move to Daudu to sleep for fear of being attacked at night by herdsmen.

“It will interest you to know that Uikpam is the only community in Mbabai Council Ward where you can find human beings. The entire Council Ward is already deserted for fear of armed herdsmen who are making life miserable for the people. In fact, this is another sad day for us.”

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP Udeme Edet, said she was yet to receive any report on the incident.