Bandits Kill Five, Including Former Assembly Candidate, in Fresh Benue Attack

Kingsley Ohens reporting For Urbanscoopnews

Otobi, Benue State — At least five people, including a former House of Assembly candidate, were killed in the early hours of Tuesday during a fresh armed attack on Otobi community in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.

One of the victims was Igbabe Ochi, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Otukpo-Akpa State Constituency in the 2019 general election.

The attack occurred at about 1:30 a.m., barely two days after community volunteers foiled a kidnap attempt on Sunday night at Ekwu-Ora Odaba, also in Otobi. That failed abduction had prompted heightened security patrols by local vigilantes and youths across the community.

Local sources said suspected armed herdsmen stormed Otobi shortly after volunteer surveillance teams temporarily withdrew from duty around midnight.

“After Sunday’s kidnap attempt, volunteer guards and youths maintained patrols across the community until about 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday,” a resident said. “But once the surveillance team around the railway crossing into the Ijami axis pulled back to rest around 1:30 a.m., the gunmen invaded, shooting sporadically and killing five people. They also looted food items and other valuables.”

The President of the Otobi Community Development Association, John Anyebe, confirmed the incident, stating that the attackers entered the community through the railway station bridge from the Ijami area.
“They shot one person near the water board before moving to the transformer junction, where Honourable Igbabe Ochi and four others were seated. They opened fire on them and later looted nearby shops,” Anyebe said.

Residents say Otobi has been under sustained attack in recent months. On April 15, 2025, at least 13 persons were killed in a similar assault, followed by another attack in May 2025 at the Omebe axis of the community that claimed three lives.

As of the time of filing this report, the Benue State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement. Calls and messages sent to the Command’s spokesperson, Udeme Edet, were unanswered.

Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Otukpo-Akpa State Constituency, Kennedy Angbo, condemned the renewed violence while speaking with Channels Television, describing the situation as alarming and unacceptable.

“Barely a year after 13 people were killed here, five more lives have been lost in Otobi,” Angbo said. “Just on Sunday evening, gunmen attacked travellers along the Burnt Bricks area of Otukpo, injuring three passengers on a Benue Links bus.”

He called on security agencies to intensify intelligence gathering and launch decisive operations to dismantle armed groups operating in the area.

“I urge the security agencies to do more to flush out these terrorists from our communities. Our people can no longer live in fear,” the lawmaker added.

The latest attack has once again heightened concerns over worsening insecurity in parts of Benue State, with residents calling for urgent and sustained government intervention to prevent further loss of lives.