The Benue Prisons Service on Monday confirmed that herdsmen
invaded its Jato-Aka Farm Centre and killed an inmate, Tersoo Agidi.
The Public Relations Officer, Benue Prisons Service, ASP Stephen
Nwanchor, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Makurdi that the incident took
place on Saturday at the farm centre.
Nwanchor said the invasion was not a failed jail break attempt.
"This is a new farm centre established in January, 2017.
The herdsmen invaded the place, destroyed property, shot and killed one Tersoo
Agidi, an inmate.
"We have evacuated all the remaining inmates from the farm
centre to Gboko, pending the outcome of the investigation.
"We are not taking anything for granted. My Controller of
Prison is on top of the issue, and all relevant security operatives in the
state have been notified," Nwanchor said.
The PRO said the service was investigating the invasion to
ascertain the remote cause, noting that no arrest had been made so far.
Nwanchor said the service had tightened security in and around
all its facilities in the state, assuring that there was no cause for alarm.
Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram terrorists on Monday morning
attacked Kalari Abdiye village in the Konduga Local Government Area of Borno
State, killing three villagers they accused of working as spies for the
military.
Witnesses said the Boko Haram insurgents, who invaded the area
around 3am on Saturday, slit the throats of their victims and injured a fourth
villager.
Security sources including a military officer told the AFP that
the attackers were from the Musab Al-Barnawi's faction, which had vowed to hit
military and government targets.
The killings came as the Nigerian Army Small Arms Championship
kicked off on Monday in the Sambisa Forest area.
It was learnt that top military chiefs, hardware and equipment
were already in the Sambisa Forest area, where the sports championship was
holding.
A civilian Joint Task Force member said the insurgents seemed to
have targeted their victims as they searched for them among the villagers.
He said, "The terrorists singled out the four men and they
accused them of collaboration with the military. They accused the men of
passing information to the military. The gunmen thereafter took the men outside
the village, where they slaughtered three of them."
The Director, Army Public
Relations, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, had yet to reply to an enquiry on the
insurgents' attack sent to him as of press time.
