10 killed, many abducted in Kogi, Benue

At least 10 people have been killed in separate attacks in Kogi and Benue states, while many travellers are abducted on the highways in the two states. Our correspondent in Markurdi said no fewer than five people were killed following a fresh attack by armed invaders on Entekpa communities in Adoka district of Otukpo Local […]

At least 10 people have been killed in separate attacks in Kogi and Benue states, while many travellers are abducted on the highways in the two states.

Our correspondent in Markurdi said no fewer than five people were killed following a fresh attack by armed invaders on Entekpa communities in Adoka district of Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.

Residents said the attack, which occurred on Monday evening, forced people from at least eight villages in Entekpa to flee their homes, leaving the communities deserted as of Tuesday afternoon.

Chief Oliver Inalegwu, the ward head of Entekpa, said the attackers, suspected to be armed herders, invaded the villages and killed five residents.

“They killed five people. The villages are now empty; nobody is there. We visited the area this morning with the council chairman, and everywhere was bloody. It was herdsmen who attacked the villages,” he said.

Chairman of Otukpo LGA, Maxwell Ogiri, who confirmed the incident to journalists in Makurdi on the telephone, said the attackers first set a house ablaze before opening fire indiscriminately, killing five people instantly and injuring several others who are currently receiving treatment in different hospitals.

In another development, at least 16 travellers were abducted by gunmen along the Utonkon–Okpoga Road in Benue State on Monday following an attack on a commercial bus conveying passengers from Oju and Obi local government areas of the state.

This latest abduction happened barely 24 hours after the kidnapping of nine people from a church in the Utonkon community of Ado LGA.

Confirming the incident, Chairman of Oju Local Government Area, Jackson Ominyi, said 16 people were involved in the attack, out of whom two were killed, while two others were rescued.

Ominyi explained that the rescue of the two victims was achieved through a joint effort with the chairman of Okpokwu LGA, adding that security agencies were still searching for the remaining 12 abducted passengers.

Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Udeme Edet, had yet to respond to calls and messages put through her telephone at the time of filling this report.

Similarly, hoodlums suspected to be kidnappers reportedly abducted passengers in three vehicles along the Ejule-Alloma highway in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

Locals reported that the incident took place around 5pm on Monday when the unsuspecting drivers of the three vehicles were flagged down when they ran into the barricade of their assailants on the said highway.

According to the eyewitnesses, the three vehicles were heading to Enugu from their respective bases when they ran into the ambush around the Government Secondary School, Alloma.

The passengers were led into the bush, except a few who sustained varying degrees of injuries amidst the shooting spree that ensued.

“Bush combing is ongoing right now by the army, police and vigilantes.”

Also, at least five people have been reportedly killed, with several others declared missing or injured following a violent clash involving herdsmen and peasant farmers at Ejule-Ojebe community in Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi State.

The incident started on Saturday when suspected herdsmen allegedly killed a man on his way to the farm over alleged lingering issues bothering on destruction of farm crops in the area.

 

Locals reported that the news of the killing of the farmer triggered a violent clash that lasted for two days, as the villagers mobilised against the suspected killer herdsmen when the news hit the community.

 

“While on the trail of the suspected killers of the farmer on Saturday, the corpse of a woman was found along a farm path. Two other lifeless bodies of some residents were found on Sunday in the community.

 

“The death of the fifth person, Suleiman, on Sunday, is still confusing everyone. His killers trailed him from the embattled Ejule-Ojebe community in Ibaji to a village at the Ibaji-Idah border and killed him, as he just returned from a farm.

 

“As a result of the situation, several residents have relocated to safer communities to avoid being caught up in the evolving bloody crisis.

 

“Several households are still taking stock of their relatives;  for now, five residents have been confirmed killed in the crisis; yet several others are still missing,” said Omachonu, a resident of Ejule-Ojebe community.

 

Consequently, the ensued hostility led to a mass exodus of herdsmen from the Ibaji community towards Oforachi, Ikpokawo and Odolu axis of the neighbouring Igala-Mela/ Odolu Local Government Area on Monday.

 

The Deputy Speaker, Kogi State House of Assembly, representing Ibaji State Constituency of Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Comfort Ojoma Nwuchiola Egwaba, confirmed the incident, saying that the violent clashes at Ejule Ojebe, parts of Ibaji Local Government Area in the state, resulted in “tragic loss of lives”.

 

The Kogi State Police Command’s spokesperson, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, did not respond to text or call when contacted over the incident.