Four persons including a Deeper Life Bible Church Pastor were reportedly killed in separate attacks on some communities in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
Three people, among them two females, were reportedly shot dead by suspected herders at their farm on Monday.
The Deeper Life Pastor, identified as Pastor John Ajav, was said to have been killed on Tuesday morning by suspected herders while on his way to the Local Government headquarters at Gbamjinba to attend a religious function.
The killing of the pastor was made known on a verified Facebook account of Dr Tivlumn Nyitse, the Chief of Staff to the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, which he posted around 3:00pm on Tuesday.
The CoS had written, “A very sad day for me and the entire Ikyen Gbuusu Family. We lost Pastor John Torbee Ajav this morning to some Fulani marauders who shot him on his way to Gbamjinba to attend a religious function.
“The late John was a pastor with the Deeper Life Church, Umenger. May the good Lord receive his soul with mercy.”
Confirming the killings of the four people, the Chairman of Guma Local Government, Caleb Aba, said that there were separate attacks where four people were killed between Monday and Tuesday.
“On Monday three people; two females and a man went to fetch locus beans on their farm at Nyivir and they were shot and killed.
“Also this morning (Tuesday) a pastor who was going to Gbamjinba (headquarters of Guma) was killed around Waku village,” Aba said.
Efforts to confirm the two incidents from the State Police Command were not successful as calls put across to the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Catherine Anene, rang out and she did not respond to messages sent to her cell phone.