Gunmen kill former PDP assembly candidate, 4 others in Benue
Confirming the incident, President of the Otobi Community Development Association (OCDA), John Anyebe, told journalists in Makurdi that the attackers accessed the community through the railway station bridge from the Ijami side of Otobi.
“They first shot a person near the water board before moving to the transformer junction where Honourable Igbabe Ochi and four others were seated and opened fire on them. They also looted nearby shops for food and other items,” he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Benue State, DSP Udeme Edet, confirmed the killings. However, he put the figure of casualties at four.
Edet said, “We can confirm that an incident occurred earlier today at Otobi-Akpa. Tragically, four individuals have lost their lives.
“Investigation is in progress, and efforts are being made to arrest the perpetrators to face justice.”
Also, the Special Adviser to the Benue State Governor on Security and Internal Affairs, Chief Joseph Har, confirmed to journalists in Makurdi that suspected armed herders who maybe looking for food for their kidnapped victims attacked a provision shop in Otobi-Akpa community, Otukpo LGA at 1:30am, killing the four persons and looting food items.
Har also noted that four persons kidnapped earlier in the community are yet to be released.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Otukpo-Akpa constituency at the State Assembly, Kennedy Angbo, has decried the persistent attacks on his people.
“Five of my people have again been killed in Otobi community, barely a year after 13 others were murdered on April 15, 2025.
“I am calling on security agencies to intensify intelligence gathering and counter-operations to flush these terrorists out of our area,” Angbo said.
