Seven people have been killed and several others injured in separate attacks in Benue State, as gunmen and suspected armed herdsmen struck communities in Otukpo and along the Utonkon axis. Five persons were killed in Entekpa community, Adoka, Otukpo Local Government Area, while two passengers were shot dead and 14 others abducted during an ambush on a commercial bus along the UtonkonβOjapo/Okpoga Road.
In the Adoka attack, suspected herdsmen reportedly entered the community with a large number of cattle before launching a coordinated assault. According to local officials, the attackers used the cattle as a decoy while taking strategic positions and opening fire on residents. Houses were burnt and several villagers sustained gunshot wounds, with many others still unaccounted for. Security forces, including the military, have since been deployed to the area.
Otukpo Local Government Chairman, Maxwell Ogiri, described the attack as carefully planned and said displaced residents have fled to neighbouring communities, creating a humanitarian concern. He noted that the Deputy Governor had promised relief materials, while police authorities were moving additional personnel to restore calm.
In a separate incident barely 24 hours after the abduction of nine worshippers from a Catholic Church in Utonkon, gunmen ambushed a 16-seater commercial bus heading to the South-West. The attackers reportedly opened fire when the driver attempted to escape, killing two passengers instantly and forcing the remaining 14 into the bush after seizing their mobile phones.
Two of the abducted passengers were later rescued, while 12 remain in captivity as search operations continue. Local government officials confirmed the incident and assured that security agencies are intensifying efforts to secure the safe release of those still held by the attackers.
