Armed men on Saturday night attacked and killed three people returning from a burial in Sati-Ikov Council Ward of Ushongo Local Government Area of Benue State.
Residents of the area who spoke to journalists on Sunday said the assailants attacked the mourners near the community.
One of the locals, who pleaded not to be named for fear of reprisals from local militias, said, “Some mourners who were returning from a burial were attacked close to our community, Sati-Ikov, on Saturday night by local militias.
“Three of them were killed, and two others, a male and a female, were kidnapped.”
Confirming the incident on Sunday, the lawmaker representing Ushongo Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, Simon Gabo, decried the activities of local militias in the area.
He stated that his community had been turned into a battlefield by local militias in the past two weeks, resulting in the deaths of several people.
He identified those killed on as Bem Msughter from Mbakyombo, Daav-Ikov; Aondo Chia from Mbamegh, Daa-Ikov; and Sunday Terwase of Mbakyor, Daav-Ikov.
He also said two other people returning from the burial—Aondongu Amos of Mbanyion, a POS operator at Sati-Ikov, and Mrs Arinze, an Igbo patent medicine trader at Sati-Ikov—were kidnapped.
Gabo, who is also the Deputy Majority Chief Whip of the State House of Assembly, claimed that three people were killed in the community two weeks ago.
He said, “I received a call from my people today (Sunday) at about 4 am that yesterday (Saturday) night, they went for a burial and on their way back, they ran into armed men.
“The armed men shot and killed three of them and collected their bags. They also robbed some residents there and kidnapped two people. The victims were all young men.
“Apart from that, we have had one or two such incidents every other week.”
Gabo alleged that the armed men usually crossed the river from Katsina-Ala Local Government Area to Ushongo to launch attacks.
“So they cross from there to our side, attack and return to their side. It is a mountainous area with large forests,” the deputy majority chief whip said.
He added that he had reported the incident to the police, stressing that the Divisional Police Officer had taken security personnel to the community on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, DSP Udeme Edet, could not be reached for comment as her phone rang out at the time of filing this report.
The latest incident has heightened fear among residents amid rising insecurity across the state.
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