Suspected Armed Herders Kill Six in Fresh Attacks on Otukpo Communities

Suspected Armed Herders Kill Six in Fresh Attacks on Otukpo Communities

At least six persons have been killed and others abducted in a series of attacks by suspected armed herders in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State over the past three days, deepening fears over the resurgence of insecurity in Benue.

The attacks, which occurred between Sunday and the early hours of Tuesday, claimed the lives of a retired Warrant Officer, a former councillor, and four other residents in different communities within the local government area.

The retired Warrant Officer was reportedly killed at Asa 2, Otukpo, while two other persons were shot on the Otobi–Akpam road on Sunday. During the same period, the assailants also abducted a woman and a child in another attack.

In the most recent incident, five people, including a former councillor, were killed in the early hours of Tuesday, January 13, when gunmen stormed Otobi-Akpa community around 1.30am, shooting sporadically and looting shops and foodstuffs.

Victims of the Tuesday attack were identified as Ochi Ugbabe, a former councillor and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Assembly candidate in 2019, Achibi Onah, Eje Eba, and Sunday Iruja, while the identities of other victims were initially unclear.

The Otukpo Local Government Chairman, Maxwell Ogri, said the Sunday attack was carried out by bandits masquerading as herders, adding that criminal elements from the North East and Middle Belt were responsible for the killings and kidnappings recorded after the festive period.

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Local residents said the attackers had earlier attempted to kidnap people on Sunday night at Ekwu-Ora’Odaba, but were repelled by community volunteer guards. However, after patrol teams withdrew in the early hours of Tuesday, the gunmen reportedly returned and launched a deadly assault.

A community leader, John Anyebe, confirmed that the attackers entered the village through the railway station bridge from the Ijami axis, opening fire on residents before fleeing into the nearby forest.

The lawmaker representing Otukpo/Akpa Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, Kennedy Angbo, condemned the repeated attacks, recalling that passengers on a Benue Links bus were also shot on Sunday around Otukpo.

Confirming the incident, the Special Adviser on Internal Security, Joseph Har, said the attack was reported by the Community Protection Guard, noting that four people were killed at a provision shop while the assailants looted food items believed to be intended for kidnapped victims.

The Benue State Police Command, through its spokesperson DSP Udeme Edet, also confirmed the attack, stating that investigations were ongoing and efforts intensified to arrest the perpetrators.

Otobi-Akpa community had previously come under attack in April 2025, when 13 people were killed by suspected herders. The renewed violence comes amid growing concerns over armed herder attacks, kidnappings, and the broader security crisis in Benue State.

Residents have linked the recent attacks to increased herder movements during the dry season, as well as possible spillover effects from recent US airstrikes on ISWAP camps in Sokoto State. Last Saturday, two security operatives attached to Operation Whirl Stroke were also killed in Kwande LGA.

Suspected Armed Herders Kill Six in Fresh Attacks on Otukpo Communities