ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Three persons have been killed, several others injured, and commuters abducted after suspected armed herdsmen launched coordinated attacks on communities and a police checkpoint in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.
The incidents occurred on Friday evening, with Akpamaju community and the Ojano axis along the Otukpo-Enugu highway targeted in separate but closely timed assaults that left residents and travellers in panic.
According to a local source, the first attack happened at Akpamaju, where two men working on a farm were shot dead by the attackers.
One of the victims was said to have travelled from Gboko to operate a tractor hired for farming activities in the community.
“It was two different incidents. The first one happened at Akpamaju community in Otukpo Local Government Area on Friday evening,” the source said.
READ ALSO: Benue Attacks: Catholic Priests Sound Alarm Over Continued Bloodshed
“The victims, two males, were on the farm. One of them came from Gboko to work for the man who hired him, and both of them were killed. The attackers were armed herdsmen. Luckily, one boy escaped from the farm.”
The source identified the deceased as Friday Omoha from Ogbadibo LGA and Francis Liambee from Guma LGA, who reportedly operated the tractor during the farm work.
Their bodies were later deposited at the University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital mortuary in Otukpo.
Barely an hour after the Akpamaju attack, another incident was recorded at Ojano along the Enugu highway, where suspected herdsmen allegedly ambushed a police checkpoint.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers stormed out of nearby bushes and opened fire on officers and a civilian assisting at the checkpoint, killing the young man instantly.
“The young man was shot dead instantly while the policemen on duty fled for their lives,” an eyewitness said.
The attackers were also said to have opened fire on a commercial bus belonging to a Mass Transit company marked TMT, injuring passengers and abducting some occupants, although the exact number of those taken remains unclear.
“Luckily, some of the passengers escaped and ran back towards Otukpo, while those injured were taken to the hospital,” another source added.
The damaged vehicle was later taken to the Otukpo Police Station, while the body of the slain civilian was deposited at the mortuary.
Confirming the attacks, Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, Maxwell Ogiri, said security forces responded swiftly after receiving distress calls from the affected communities.
According to him, the first distress alert came from Ukpamaju village, where two farmers were discovered killed on their farmland.
READ ALSO: Suspected Herdsmen Kill 13 in Fresh Benue Attack
“One of the survivors told us the attackers were about 15 in number and were armed with AK-47 rifles,” Ogiri said.
He added that while returning from the mortuary, another distress call came in about the Ojano highway attack, prompting a rapid response by security operatives, including Operation Whirl Stroke personnel.
“We mobilised to the scene and engaged the attackers in a gun duel. They attacked a TMT mass transit vehicle and some other vehicles,” he said.
“We rescued three passengers and took them to the hospital, but unfortunately one of them died.”
Ogiri further stated that preliminary findings suggest the same group may have carried out both attacks, as they occurred within a short interval and in nearby locations.
Security authorities were yet to issue an official statement on the incidents as of the time of filing this report.