Ex-PDP Assembly Candidate, Four Others Killed In Fresh Benue Attack

At least five persons, including a former councillor and the 2019 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Assembly candidate for Otukpo-Akpa State Constituency, Igbabe Ochi, have been reportedly killed in a midnight attack on Otobi Akpa community in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.

Naija News reports that the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, has further heightened tension and deepened fears over rising insecurity in the agrarian community.

According to Vanguard, sources said the assailants, suspected to be armed herdsmen, invaded the community at about 1:30 am, heading straight to a provision shop where some residents, including Ochi, were gathered.

“They killed four persons at the shop and looted food items, indicating they were searching for food,” a source disclosed.

“When residents heard gunshots, youths mobilised to confront them, but the attackers fled into the forest.”

The source added that Otobi Akpa has recently witnessed several cases of kidnapping, allegedly perpetrated by the same group of armed herders who, residents claimed, had refused to vacate the community’s farmlands.

An Emergency Situation Report issued by the Benue State Civil Protection Guards (BSCPG), Benue South Headquarters, Otukpo, confirmed the attack and the killing of four persons at the provision shop.

According to the report, armed men suspected to be herdsmen-kidnappers attacked the shop while allegedly searching for food for abducted victims.

“The suspected herdsmen kidnappers opened fire on residents, killing four people on the spot before looting the shop,” the report stated.

The four victims were identified as Igbabe Ochi, Achibi Onah, Eje Eba, and Sunday Iruja. A fifth victim, a woman, was reportedly killed in a related incident within the community.

The BSCPG further disclosed that four persons earlier abducted by the attackers remain in captivity, raising concerns that criminal groups are operating freely from the surrounding forests.

It added that security operatives, including police personnel and civil protection guards, were swiftly deployed to the area to forestall further attacks, while patrols have been intensified.

Reacting to the killings, the President of the Otobi Community Development Association, Mr John Anyebe, said the attackers accessed the community through the railway station bridge from the Ijami axis of Otobi.

“They shot one person near the Water Board before proceeding to where Igbabe Ochi and others were,” Anyebe said.

“They opened fire on them and looted nearby shops for food and valuables.”

Anyebe lamented the recurring violence in the area, recalling that 13 persons were killed on April 15, 2025, barely two weeks after three others were murdered at the Omebe axis of Otobi.

Also reacting, the lawmaker representing Otukpo-Akpa State Constituency, Mr Kennedy Angbo, condemned the fresh killings, describing the situation as alarming and unacceptable.

“Five of my people have been killed again in Otobi, barely a year after 13 persons were murdered in the same area,” Angbo said.

“Just on Sunday evening, gunmen attacked travellers on a Benue Links bus at Burnt Bricks, Otukpo, injuring three persons.”

He called on security agencies to intensify intelligence gathering and counter-operations to flush out criminal elements hiding in the forests around the community.

Naija News reports that the state command of the Nigeria Police Force had yet to issue any official statement regarding the latest incident as of the time of filing this report.