Suspected armed herdsmen have killed five persons in Otobi, a community in the Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, residents and community leaders said on Tuesday.
Among those killed was Igbabe Ochi, a former House of Assembly candidate for the Otukpo-Akpa State Constituency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party during the 2019 general election.
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The attack occurred at about 1.30 a.m. on Tuesday, following a failed kidnap attempt in the community on Sunday night.
Local sources said the earlier incident had put residents on high alert, with community volunteers and youths conducting patrols through the night.
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A resident said that the attackers struck shortly after the patrol teams withdrew around midnight.
“At about 1.30 a.m., gunmen suspected to be herdsmen stormed the community and started shooting. They killed five people and looted foodstuff and other valuables,” the source said.
The President of the Otobi Community Development Association, John Anyebe, confirmed the attack CHANNELS TV, saying the assailants entered the community through the railway station bridge from the Ijami area.
“Yes, the attack was carried out by suspected herdsmen who have been terrorising our community,” Mr Anyebe said.
“They first shot one person close to the water board before heading to where Hon. Igbabe Ochi and four others were seated near the transformer junction. They opened fire on them and later looted nearby stores for food and other valuables,” he added.
Mr Anyebe recalled that Otobi had suffered repeated attacks in the past year, including an incident on 15 April 2025 when 13 persons were killed.
He said two weeks later, three more residents were killed at the Omebe axis of the community.
The Benue State Police Command had yet to issue a statement on the latest attack as of the time of filing this report. Calls and messages to the Police Public Relations Officer, Udeme Edet, were unanswered.
Reacting to the killings, the lawmaker representing Otukpo-Akpa State Constituency, Kennedy Angbo, said the situation had become unbearable.
Speaking with Channels Television, Mr Angbo linked the Otobi attack to other recent incidents in the area.
“You can imagine that five of my people have been killed again at Otobi community of Akpa district, barely a year after 13 persons were killed on April 15, 2025,” he said.
Mr Angbo also recalled the recent attack on a Benue Links bus along the Otukpo axis.
“On Sunday at about 7 p.m., around Burnt Bricks, Otukpo, gunmen opened fire on travellers, injuring three persons. It was just God that prevented more deaths,” he said.
He called on security agencies to intensify intelligence gathering and operations to flush out what he described as “terrorists” operating around Otukpo and neighbouring communities.
READ ALSO: Gunmen attack Benue Links bus in Otukpo, injure three passengers
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that insecurity has escalated across Benue State in 2026, with a series of deadly incidents recorded in Otukpo, Kwande, Makurdi, Gboko and other areas.
These include the killing of a retired army officer in Otukpo and the abduction of his wife and infant, as well as the attack on a Benue Links bus in which three passengers were injured.
The newspaper also reported the killing of two security operatives in Kwande Local Government Area, where a soldier and a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps officer were ambushed and killed while on duty.
In the same area, suspected armed herdsmen earlier killed five farmers during harvest activities.
Residents and community leaders say the repeated attacks have spread fear across Benue communities, with many calling for stronger security presence, sustained patrols and coordinated intelligence-led operations to stem the violence.
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