Again, armed herdsmen attack commuters on Benue road, abduct woman, injure others

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

Suspected armed herdsmen have reportedly attacked commuters along the Naka-Agagbe road near Agbanu village in Gwer West Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue State, abducting a woman and forcing several residents and travelers to flee the area.

The latest attack came just few days after a similar incident on Gyungu Aze-Yogbo road, in Mbayer/Yandev Council Ward of Guma LGA of the state left the female victim in critical condition.

The abducted victim, identified as Mrs. Seember Kwaghbee, was said to be travelling to Naka when she and other commuters encountered the armed attackers who were said to be shooting sporadically along the road.

Speaking on the issue, Damian Kwaor of the Benue Motorcycle Association, Agbe branch, disclosed that the association received a distress report weekend concerning one of its members, Moses Tar, who was travelling from Agagbe to Naka with the victim as his passenger.

Kwaor explained that the motorcyclist later reunited with members of the association and narrated how he narrowly escaped from the scene.

According to him, “Our member told us that he managed to escape during the attack, but the woman he was carrying, one Mrs. Kwaghbee, was taken away by the gunmen. He also lost his motorcycle during the incident.”

A resident of the community who spoke on condition of anonymity disclosed that commuters unknowingly ran into the armed men who had already mounted an operation along the road. He explained that the rider abandoned his motorcycle and passenger in an attempt to save his life before contacting security personnel.

According to him, “security operatives later escorted the rider back to the scene where the motorcycle was recovered, only for them to discover that the female passenger had been abducted by the attackers.”

He further revealed that attempts to reach the victim through her mobile phone confirmed fears that she had been kidnapped. “When her phone number was dialed, the abductors answered the call and confirmed that she was already in their custody,” he said.

He disclosed that several other commuters sustained varying degrees of injuries during the attack, “though no death was recorded but the whereabout of Mrs. Kwaghbee remain unknown.”

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, said she was yet to receive an official report on the incident.

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