Gunmen kidnap three siblings escorting mother’s corpse in Benue

The three brothers escorting the dead body of their mother to be buried in Benue State from Abuja were said to have been kidnapped by gunmen on Saturday.

It was learned that this occurred somewhere between Omutele and Ankpechi in Oglewu District at about 4am.

As per information received, the gunmen ambushed the car of the victims on the road connecting Ogobia to Otukpo Road in Ohimini Local Government of the state.

This kidnapping is the second incidence of attack on funeral convoys carrying corpses for burial in one week’s time, thus indicating increasing insecurity in the roads connecting Benue and its adjoining states.

According to a resident of Omutele community, who gave his name as Elijah, our correspondent was informed that gunfire woke up the residents between 3am and 4am.

“We heard sporadic gunshots between 3am and 4am today (Saturday), and we thought Fulani herdsmen were attacking our community.

“But at daybreak, we learnt that gunmen kidnapped some people escorting the corpse of their mother from Abuja to Iklenyi community in neighbouring Okpokwu Local Government Area for burial,” he said.

A video circulating on social media claimed that the victims’ vehicle developed a mechanical fault, leaving the family stranded on the highway before the attackers struck.

It was not immediately clear whether the corpse was also taken by the gunmen.

When contacted, the Chairman of Ohimini Local Government Area, Gabriel Adole, confirmed the incident but said he was on his way to the scene to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the attack.

“Yes, I am going to the scene of the incident now to ascertain what really happened,” Adole said.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, Udeme Edet, said she had yet to receive a report on the incident.

She promised to contact the Divisional Police Officer in the area for details but had yet to respond as of the time of filing this report.

The latest abduction comes barely a week after gunmen ambushed a funeral convoy transporting the remains of a late Deputy Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Augustine Ikwue, along the Ochadamu-Ejule Road in Kogi State.

The attackers abducted nine mourners and briefly seized the deceased’s corpse before abandoning it, allowing family members to recover it for burial.

Meanwhile, a former Labour Party presidential aspirant, Peter Agada, has urged President Bola Tinubu to take decisive action to halt the wave of killings across the country following the recent killing of about 16 persons in Akpachi and Otukpo-Nobi communities in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.

Speaking in Abuja on Saturday, Agada said the Federal Government must move beyond condolence visits and take concrete steps to dismantle criminal groups responsible for attacks across the country.

“President Bola Tinubu’s administration must stop being a government of empty ceremonial promises of security and rise to restore Nigeria from being a republic of bloodshed to one of law, order, peace, opportunity and prosperity,” he said.

He called on the government to deploy modern technology and intelligence-driven security strategies to combat terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and other violent criminal groups.