Gunmen  dressed in military uniform on Sunday invaded Agagbe community in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State and, according to some accounts, caused the death of 16 people.

The gunmen who invaded the community about 4: 30 am also left several others either injured or displaced.

Confirming the attack, the Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke, (OPWS), Major General Adeyemi Yekini however said only seven people whose bodies had been recovered by his men in what he described as a reprisal attack were killed.

Briefing journalists at the Tactical Air Command of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in Makurdi, the OPWS Commander in charge of Gwer West, Flying Officer Mohammed Abubakar said the invaders were sighted in Agagbe forest rustling cows.

He further disclosed that he quickly mobilized his men to the area and opened fire on them. He revealed that three of the rustlers were killed by the troops and their corpses deposited at a hospital in the area.

“We later traced them to Ter Nagi’s Palace and discovered 22 cattle but he (the Ter Nagi) claimed that the cattle belong to him even before the coming of OPWS to the area.

“Thereafter, we made contact with the DPO who equally identified the rustlers as members of the Livestock Guard who disguised in military uniform to rustle cattle and butcher them for sale at the Naka market.

As I speak with you, they are selling the meat at the market. The DPO also gave names of seven persons who are members of the Livestock Guard involved in the attack.

“Just this afternoon, our men went on mop up patrol and discovered four additional dead bodies at the scene of the incident,” Abubakar added.

Also reacting to the incident, the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom described the killings as unfortunate, stressing that it was wrong for the OPWS to allege that members of the Livestock Guards were involved in the attacks.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Terver Akase, Governor Ortom tasked the troops to always verify their source of information rather than relying on unverifiable ones before passing judgment.

“This Operation Whirl-Stroke comprises of professional soldiers who supposed to act professionally. They can’t rely on information from unverifiable source to come and say members of Livestock Guards are instigating crisis.

“Livestock Guards are not armed neither were they given military uniform by Benue government. So the military should be objective and unbiased in their actions,” Ortom said.