Three siblings travelling from Abuja to Benue State with the remains of their mother for burial were reportedly abducted by gunmen along the Ogobia–Otukpo Road in Ohimini Local Government Area of the state.
The incident reportedly occurred at about 4 a.m. on Saturday between Omutele and Ankpechi in Oglewu District.
According to residents, the gunmen intercepted the victims’ vehicle while they were on their way to Iklenyi community in neighbouring Okpokwu Local Government Area for the burial.
A resident of Omutele, who identified himself simply as Elijah, said people in the area were awakened by gunshots in the early hours of Saturday.
“We heard sporadic gunshots between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. and initially thought armed herders were attacking our community. At daybreak, we learnt that some people escorting their mother’s corpse from Abuja for burial had been kidnapped,” he said.
A video circulating on social media claimed the family’s vehicle developed a mechanical fault, leaving them stranded on the highway before the attackers struck.
It was not immediately clear whether the deceased’s body was also taken by the gunmen.
Confirming the incident, the Chairman of Ohimini Local Government Area, Gabriel Adole, said he was on his way to the scene to verify the circumstances surrounding the attack.
“Yes, I am going to the scene of the incident now to ascertain what really happened,” he said.
The spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, DSP Udeme Edet, said she had yet to receive an official report on the incident.
She said she would contact the Divisional Police Officer in the area for details but had not provided an update as of the time of filing this report.
The latest abduction comes barely a week after gunmen attacked a funeral convoy conveying the remains of a former Deputy Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Augustine Ikwue, along the Ochadamu–Ejule Road in Kogi State.
In the attack, nine mourners were abducted, while the deceased’s corpse was briefly seized before being abandoned and later recovered by family members for burial.
Meanwhile, a former Labour Party presidential aspirant, Peter Agada, has called on President Bola Tinubu to take stronger action against the rising wave of killings and kidnappings across the country.
Reacting to the recent killing of about 16 people in Akpachi and Otukpo-Nobi communities in Benue State, Agada urged the Federal Government to move beyond condolence visits and adopt intelligence-driven security strategies to tackle terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and other violent criminal groups.
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