Gunmen ambush mourners in Benue, kill 3, abduct 2

On Saturday night, a gang of armed men attacked mourners in Sati-Ikov Council Ward of Ushongo Local Government Area of Benue State, killing three persons and kidnapping two others.

The sources revealed that the people attacked were on their way back from a funeral service when the ambush occurred.

“Some mourners who had gone for burial rites have been attacked by unknown gunmen just outside our community on Saturday night. Out of the lot, three of them have been killed, while the other two, a man and a woman, have been kidnapped,” one of the sources said.

The legislator representing Ushongo Constituency at the Benue State House of Assembly, Hon. Simon Gabo, confirmed the incident.

“I was contacted at about 4 in the morning and informed that mourners who had attended a funeral got ambushed by gunmen, and three people were shot dead, and two others were kidnapped. This has been happening repeatedly,” Gabo said.

The deceased individuals included Bem Msughter, Aondo Chia, and Sunday Terwase, who hailed from different communities within the ward.

The kidnapped individuals included Aondongu Amos, a POS agent, and Mrs Arinze, an Igbo patent medicine vendor.

The lawmakers further stated that this is not the first attack in the community recently.

The lawmaker revealed that three other individuals lost their lives in a similar incidence two weeks ago.

He further claimed that the assailants would always come across from the neighboring Katsina-Ala Local Government Area and launch attacks only to return to where they came from, owing to the challenging landscape.

It was stated that the matter had been reported to the police and additional security had also been sent to that part of the community.

Attempts to reach DSP Udeme Edet, spokesman for the Benue State Police Command, proved fruitless.