TERRORISTS AND ARMED THIEVES INTENSIFY THEIR ATTACKS AS MONEY RETURNS

After a pause brought on by the financial crisis, the daredevil gunmen wreaking havoc across the nation have resumed their assault against the populace.

According to reports, the current cash shortage brought on by the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) revamping of old naira notes has put an end to the attackers' actions.

As it sought to implement its cashless policy, the apex bank had stated on February 10 that the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes would no longer be in circulation as legal money.

Due to the tremendous cash crisis caused by the lack of the new notes, the development sparked controversy

However, under pressure and following multiple legal battles, the CBN on March 23 allowed the old naira notes to co-exist with the newly redesigned notes until December 31 2023.

The degree of kidnapping and other criminal activity was evidently reduced during the cash crunch as it became more difficult to provide ransom payments, according to reports.

The country's brief period of relative calm during the financial crisis appears to have come to an end, as bandits, herders militia, and other criminal forces have resumed their terrible and homicidal activities.

The vicious criminals have recently slain a number of people while kidnapping others.

In a similar vein, on Wednesday, gunmen kidnapped at least 100 people from farms in the states of Zamfara and Katsina.

The farmers were taken away by the armed group to their hideout after they stormed the town of Wanzamai on the border between Zamfara and Katsina, according to information obtained by MON DIARIES.

Recall that the daring gunmen abducted Prof. Onje Gye-wado, a former deputy governor of Nasarawa State, on Friday morning.

Onje Gye-wado, a former deputy governor of the state who served under Abdullahi Adamu's administration, was reportedly kidnapped when the attackers entered the village of Gwagi in the state's Wamba Local Government Area.

The incident in the Enetekpa Adoka district of Benue State's Otukpo Local Government Area, when over 40 people were slain by suspected herdsmen militia, was the most concerning of the recent attacks.

Following a string of other attacks in the area, the incident—which resulted in the deaths of 46 people, including a son of the Otukpo Local Government Chairman, Hon. Bako Eje—took place

About 46 corpses were discovered from the scene, according to Lt Col. Paul Hemba (retd.), Special Assistant to Governor Samuel Ortom on Security, who confirmed the development to press on Thursday.

Many persons were still missing as of Saturday night, according to the eyewitnesses who spoke to our correspondent about the incident.

According to information obtained by DAILY POST, the incident came after a prior attack on the same town, which left three people dead and whose bodies had just been laid to rest.

Armed herdsmen assaulted the Internally Displaced People, IDPs, camp in Mgban, along the Makurdi-Lafia federal highway, in the early hours of Saturday (yesterday), continuing their satanic crimes on the state, and they killed a large number of people. More than 35 bodies had been found as per the most recent tally.

The tragedy, according to information obtained by DAILY POST, came after an earlier attack on the same community that killed three people, whose bodies were buried a few days prior.

Armed herdsmen stormed the Internally Displaced People, IDPs, camp in Mgban, along the Makurdi-Lafia federal highway, in the early hours of Saturday (yesterday) and slaughtered a large number of people as part of the demon activities on the state. At the most recent count, over 35 bodies had been found.

Since there are nearly two million internally displaced people dispersed around the state, Benue has the worst track record for herdsmen attacks.

Earlier this week, Governor Ortom revealed in an interview that at least 18 of the state's 23 local government districts are "under siege by Fulani herdsmen."

"What happened was not because the security operatives are not working. Once in a while, these things happen. But our men have been on the ground and more have been sent to that place.

"We don't wait for incidents like that to happen before we take action. If the security operatives were not at work, nobody would have remained in that village. Once in a while, you see this kind of thing happen not because the police are not on ground.

"A police officer was part of the people that lost their lives in that Otukpo incident. That's to tell you that they were on ground before the attack was carried out."

Yet she bemoaned the fact that "Benue is a large region, we cannot cover everywhere at once."

The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, did not return calls left for him, and he did not reply to texts either.