14 passengers abducted, two killed in Benue attack

Suspected terrorists have abducted 14 passengers and killed two others in a late-evening attack in the Okpokwu axis of Benue State.

The attack came two days after worshippers were seized from a Catholic church in Ado Local Government Area of the state.

The passengers were travelling from the Igede axis of Oju and Obi local government areas to the South-west on Monday when their vehicle was ambushed around 7 p.m. along the Utonkon–Ojapo/Okpoga route within Okpokwu LGA.

Local sources told the PUNCH newspaper that the assailants stopped the vehicle and opened fire when the driver attempted to evade them. “They departed Iheijwo Market in Oju LGA around 7 p.m.

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The kidnappers stopped them on the road and took the passengers into the bush.

“One person was shot dead before the driver stopped,” a source said.

Another passenger was also reported to have died from gunshot wounds at the scene.

The chairman of Oju Local Government, Jackson Ominyi, confirmed the incident on Tuesday, saying he had been briefed by his security aides.

“I was informed that some of our people were abducted around the Okpokwu axis. I learnt that two of the passengers were killed and the remaining passengers were taken away,” he said, adding that “he had contacted officers of the Department of State Services in the area.”

PREMIUM TIMES tried to contact the spokesperson of the Benue State Police Command, Udeme Edet, for comment, but she did not pick up calls or reply to text messages to her phone as of the time of filing this report.

The latest abduction occurred two days after gunmen abducted nine worshippers during a night vigil at St John’s Catholic Church in Ojije community, Utonkon District of Ado LGA. That incident also happened at night, in the same southern axis of the state linking Ado, Oju and Okpokwu.

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PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported a series of violent attacks in Benue in recent weeks, including repeated assaults in Kwande Local Government Area, where gunmen raided markets, killed residents and security operatives, and abducted traders.

The renewed attacks across southern and eastern Benue have heightened fears among residents and travellers, many of whom say major roads have again become unsafe after dusk.