Gunmen killed two persons in Benue

TWO persons were reported killed by unknown gunmen in the last five days at Okpokwu local government area of Benue State.

Tribune Online reliably gathered that one Ambrose Abah, a community leader and a teacher at Ai Akor, in Ugbokolo area of Okpokwu council area was gruesomely killed early hour of yesterday.

The deceased, according to source was a staunch supporter of erstwhile minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro.

The source explained that the gunmen had around 2am on Wednesday stormed the community and forced themselves into the house of the mam and shot him dead in the presence of his wife and children.

His corpse was said to have been taken to an undisclosed hospital at Okpoga, headquarters of the local government.

It was gathered that another person simply identified as Radical was killed in a similar circumstance four days before the Wednesday incident.

According to the source on, 12th March, 2017, some gunmen also stormed another community, Ichakwu in the council area, where they killed a man popularly called Radical.

The gunmen were said to have stormed Radical’s residence late hour of the fateful night where he was asked to lead them to the house of their union’s treasurer.

It was gathered that on getting there, ‘they asked the treasurer to bring all the money in his care, he entered and brought N30,000.00 which they collected and afterwards they shot Radical death.’

Former minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro told our correspondent on the phone that late Abah was a community leader who could not hurt a fly.

Moro who hails from the council decried the porous security in the area in recent times, saying, ‘with the happenings in Okpokwu council, there are feelings that the area is under siege and bound age.’

“Few months ago I held peace meeting with stakeholders and community leaders in Okpokwu that was when cult related crisis was at its peak, after that there was peace, but shortly after insecurity in the area assumed frightening dimension.”

“As a result of this, many people working in the area have relocated.”

“Not long ago, they killed an immigration officer at my village, ‘Okungaga’, and many people had been killed in the council before Tuesday night killing of my supporter”, he said

Moro however appealed to security operatives to beef up security in the council area and the state in general.

Confirming the killing on Wednesday, the Benue state police spokesman, Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP, Moses Iyamu said, ‘we got the report of the killing of one Abah around 10am today (Wednesday) by some gunmen.’

Yamu said that policemen have moved to the place to comb the area but stated that no arrest has been made.

On the incessant killings in the area, the police spokesman said he was yet to be briefed on that.