At least nine villagers were killed in a night raid by suspected armed herders on 12 April in Edikwu Ankpali, a community in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State (a central Nigerian state long afflicted by deadly farmer-herder conflicts), with residents saying they were forced to bury fathers and breadwinners as fear paralysed daily life. A second attack was reported shortly afterwards in the nearby Agatu area, though police disputed accounts of fatalities there, acknowledging only one injury and one missing person. In response, Benue's governor has ordered security agencies to launch coordinated operations to dismantle armed herder camps in forests across several local government areas, as community leaders demanded urgent action to end what they described as a sustained and unacceptable assault on civilian life.