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Bandit Attacks Kill Six in Benue Communities

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At least six killed in Benue bandit attacks across Otukpo communities, with police investigating and four people still missing

No fewer than six people, including a retired Nigerian Army warrant officer and a former councillor, have been killed in a series of bandit attacks on communities in the Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.

Also read: Captain Bish Johnson Alleges Foreign Support for Nigerian Banditry

The attacks took place between Sunday and the early hours of Tuesday.

On Sunday, the retired warrant officer was reportedly shot dead at Asa 2 community, while two others were attacked along the Otobi–Akpam Road.

A woman and a child were also abducted in a related incident.

In the early hours of Tuesday, suspected armed herders struck Otobi-Akpa community, killing five individuals, including former councillor and 2019 Peoples Democratic Party House of Assembly candidate, Ochi Ugbabe.

Other victims were identified as Achibi Onah, Eje Eba, and Sunday Iruja, with one victim yet to be identified.

Maxwell Ogri, Chairman of Otukpo Local Government, described the assailants as bandits masquerading as herders.

“The bandits, believed to have come from the North-East and parts of the Middle Belt, are responsible for the killings and kidnappings recorded after the festive period,” he said.

Local residents reported that the attackers invaded Otobi-Akpa around 1:30am, shortly after community vigilantes withdrew for rest.

The gunmen reportedly stormed the community through the railway bridge linking the Ijami axis, opened fire on residents near a transformer junction, looted food and valuables, and then fled into a nearby forest.

Community leader John Anyebe said the assailants first shot a resident near the water board before proceeding to the location of Hon. Ugbabe and other victims.

Kennedy Angbo, the Otukpo/Akpa constituency lawmaker in the Benue State House of Assembly, condemned the persistent attacks.

“Just on Sunday, passengers on a Benue Links bus were attacked around Otukpo, with three people shot and hospitalised. Now, five more of my people have been killed in Otobi community,” he said.

Joseph Har, Special Adviser to the Governor on Internal Security, confirmed reports that the attackers targeted a provision shop for food.

Security operatives, including police and Community Protection Guards, have been deployed to prevent further incidents.

Four persons abducted earlier in the area remain missing.

DSP Udeme Edet, spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, also confirmed the attack.

“Sadly, an incident occurred earlier today at Otobi-Akpa, resulting in the death of four persons. Investigations are ongoing, and efforts are being intensified to apprehend the perpetrators,” she stated.

Otobi-Akpa community was previously attacked in April 2025, when 13 people were reportedly killed.

Residents attribute the recent attacks to seasonal migration of herders into the Benue Valley and increasing criminal activities across rural communities.

Also read: Onanuga Reveals Grim Details on Bandit Intelligence

Last Saturday, two security operatives a soldier and a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps personnel were killed during an assault on an Operation Whirl Stroke patrol in Kwande Local Government Area.

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Abuja Court Jails Mother of Two for Stabbing Boyfriend to Death

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Court in Abuja sentences a 22-year-old cleaner to 20 years for fatal stabbing of her boyfriend during a fight in Kurudu, FCT (more…)

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NSCDC Shut Inner Galaxy Steel Factory After Infrastructure Theft Burst

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The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Professor Ahmed Abubakar Audi, has read a riot act to economic saboteurs and vandals across the country, stating unequivocally that there is no hiding place for vandals who prey on the nation’s commonwealth and national critical assets. While addressing the media in his Abuja office, the NSCDC boss disclosed that; his leadership will smoke them out of their hiding spots and make them face the full wrath of the law.

He further disclosed that; the NSCDC has secured a sweeping court order and have sealed all operational branches of Inner Galaxy Steel Company and Jiuxing Integrity Industrial Ltd nationwide for railway materials vandalism and other grave infractions. Issuing a strict directive to the Commandant in charge of the Special Intelligence Squad, Appollos Dandaura, the CG ensured that operatives maintain absolute diligence and professionalism throughout this high-impact operation, declaring that every single suspect found culpable in this bleeding of the nation’s commonwealth will face the full wrath of the law.

This landmark action follows the recent exposure of a highly sophisticated syndicate allegedly responsible for the systematic vandalism and theft of Nigeria’s critical public infrastructure, including railway lines, power transmission equipment and telecommunications assets, with authorities now linking the stolen materials to an industrial-scale recycling operation run by the steel companies and proceeds suspected of financing terrorist activities.

Armed with valid search warrants and the newly secured court order, operatives from the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad stormed the Birnin Yero facility in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, where they recovered large quantities of railway sleepers, steel tracks and other vandalized infrastructure components, all of which have been officially secured and transferred to the Nigerian Railway Corporation to be preserved as vital exhibits for the impending prosecution.

According to confessions extracted from arrested staff, the syndicate operated a well-coordinated logistics network, routinely transporting vandalized national infrastructure from various attack sites to the company’s headquarters in Aba, Abia State, as well as to other branches, where the stolen steel was melted down in industrial furnaces and recycled into commercial products including nails, roofing sheets, and reinforcement bars sold to unsuspecting members of the public.

Suspects linked to the syndicate are now facing a raft of severe criminal allegations, including conspiracy to commit felony and theft, intentional endangering of the safety of persons traveling by railway, obstruction, injury, and damage to railway infrastructure, failure to give notice or information to a public officer, dishonestly receiving and assisting in the concealment of stolen property, and giving support and financing to terrorist groups for the commission of acts of terrorism.

Consequent upon the discoveries in Kaduna and further intelligence gathering, the closure and investigation orders have been extended to cover the headquarters of Inner Galaxy Steel Company and Jiuxing Integrity Industrial Ltd in Ahala Ukwa Village, Umuahala Community, Obuzor Ukwu, Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State, as well as the northern hub in Tasha Rawayyah, Gusau, Zamfara State, along with all other branches and subsidiaries nationwide.

The NSCDC has formally summoned the Chinese nationals involved in the management of the industrial complex; however, they are yet to appear before investigators, raising potential diplomatic and legal complexities, though the CG reaffirmed that the NSCDC remains fiercely committed to reducing infrastructure vandalism to the absolute minimum.

The Corps expressed profound gratitude to the judiciary for the swift granting of these legal instruments, which prevented further interference with crucial evidence, and also commended the press for their vital partnership in shining a bright light on these economic crimes, ensuring transparency and public accountability. Members of the public are strongly urged to continue collaborating with the Corps by sharing credible, timely information to help bring an end to infrastructure theft across Nigeria.

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Lagos DSVA Reports Alarming Rise in Domestic Violence Cases

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Lagos DSVA domestic violence reports show 400–450 monthly complaints as agency highlights rising awareness and under-reporting concerns (more…)

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