Terror struck Otobi community in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State on Saturday evening, as armed herdsmen launched a deadly assault, forcing terrified residents to flee their homes, farmlands, and livelihoods in a desperate scramble for safety.
Otobi is the ancestral hometown of Nigeria’s former Senate President and retired Brigadier-General, David Mark, who served from 2007 to 2015, earning distinction as the longest-serving leader of the upper legislative chamber in the nation’s history.
According to multiple local sources who spoke with SaharaReporters, the attackers descended on the community under the cover of darkness, unleashing mayhem and firing sporadically, killing at least one person and threatening further bloodshed.
“Herdsmen are killing residents of Otobi in Otukpo LGA. They killed one person last night and moved through the community shooting indiscriminately. They are promising to return and attack again tonight,” a community source disclosed.
Another added, “Panic has gripped the entire area. Villagers are abandoning their homes in droves. The situation is dire. This is the same community where former Senate President David Mark hails from.”
The latest assault adds to the growing wave of violence that has engulfed Benue State in recent weeks, with armed herdsmen and suspected militia groups launching coordinated attacks on rural communities.
Earlier this week, SaharaReporters also reported a separate deadly ambush near the Otukpo Burnt Bricks area, where two people were killed and 13 passengers abducted from a commercial vehicle belonging to Benue Links Nigeria Limited.
Confirming that incident, the Information Officer of the company, Johnson Daniel, assured the public that efforts were being made to secure the release of the abducted victims.
The spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, SP Anene Sewuese Catherine, acknowledged the attack and promised that a comprehensive statement would be issued as investigations progressed.
“A kidnap incident involving a Benue Links vehicle has been reported. More details will be made available shortly,” she stated.
As fear and uncertainty continue to spread across the state, many residents are calling on the federal and state governments to urgently intervene and restore security in the region, which has long been a flashpoint in the country’s farmer-herder crisis.
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