Herdsmen arrested plotting attack on Ortom’s farm

Troops of the 707 Special Forces Brigade, Nigerian Army, yesterday said they arrested two Fulani gunmen in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, home of Governor Samuel Ortom. This came barely 24 hours after the Nigerian Army announced the launch of “Operation Cat Race” in Benue, Taraba and four other states to crush killer herdsmen. The armed Fulani, who reportedly arrested during a routine patrol on Gbajimba-Iordye Road in Guma, were suspected to be planning attack on people of the area before they were sighted and arrested by the Army.

The Army said in a statement by the Assistant Director on Public Relations, Olabisi Olalekan Ayeni, in Makurdi, that the men were suspected to be converging possibly for an attack on Governor Ortom’s fish farm and other innocent citizens when they opened fire on the troops who later overpowered them.

Ayeni said the armed men later tried to withdraw, but “the Special Forces Operators intensified their pursuit and succeeded in arresting two of them while others fled in disarray”. The 707 Special Forces Brigade’s spokesman said the herdsmen had since been handed over to the police.