Armed herders kill two commuters, abduct four others in Benue community

Armed men suspected to be herders have reportedly killed two passengers of a commercial vehicle and abducted four others along the Adoka -Otukpo road in Otukpo Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue State.

The occupants of the ill-fated vehicle were said to be en route to Otukpo from Abuja when they came under attack on Sunday night at about 11 pm.

According to a source in the area, the vehicle ran into an ambush by the armed herders who shot and killed the driver and another, forcing the vehicle to veer off the road.

He said, “From what was told, the bus was coming from Abuja and was heading to Otukpo when they ran into an ambush by armed herdsmen who opened fire on the bus.

“They shot at a moving vehicle and killed the driver and one other passenger. The bus veered off the road and ended up in the bush.

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“They came and took all the surviving passengers away, though we cannot tell the exact figure of those they took away, but from Abuja, the vehicle takes nine occupants, including the driver.”

Confirming the incident, Chairman of Otukpo LGA, Maxwell Ogiri, disclosed that the vehicle had six occupants at the time of the attack.

He further explained that some of the occupants were dropped off at Adoka before the vehicle came under attack.

“The vehicle was coming from Abuja to Otukpo and some of the passengers actually alighted in Adoka.

“So there were six passengers remaining in the vehicle when they were intercepted along Adoka Otukpo road, two people were killed and four others were whisked away,” he said.

The Chairman said efforts were ongoing to locate and rescue the abducted passengers.

When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent, CSP, Catherine Anene, said she was yet to receive the report of the incident.