Benue: Land of horrors

• Again, terrorists murder scores in cold blood

From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi

The echoes of the gunshots that pierced through Otukpo-Nobi farming community, Otukpo Local Government, Benue State, on Sunday, July 12, 2026, will take time to fade. The wounds of the cold-blooded murder are still fresh, while the scars are boldly visible on the tear-stained faces of residents of the community.

Efada Ohepo, father of seven, has only God to thank for his life. He was shot but, somehow, he survived. Admitted at the Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Otukpo, he told Daily Sun that he was asleep when the gunshots shattered his peace and woke to a rain of bullets in his neighbourhood:

“We were sleeping around 4am when suddenly we started hearing gunshots. Everyone was afraid. We then realised we were under attack. Women and children ran, confused. And every one that ran out, the herdsmen shot them. They were just shooting sporadically.

“When I ran out, I ran into one elderly man. He was our clan head. Because he couldn’t run as fast, I carried him. But as I was going, I fell down. One of the gunmen shot our clan head dead, after which they chased after me and hit me on my head. As they chased me, they were shouting, Hey! Hey! Stop! Stop! And they shot at me. So, I fell down and lay there quietly as if I was dead.

“When they came close, they started hitting me on the back with their sticks and all they had. I was bleeding profusely from the wounds. I could feel the blood flowing from my head. They thought I was dead because when I didn’t move, I heard them shouting, ‘Yamutu, yamutu, muje, muje.’ They left me there and went after others.

“They were shooting anyone they saw. One mad man that used to stay in our house, they also shot and killed him after breaking his legs.”

Ohepo thanked God that his wife and family were not killed during the siege. He urged the Federal Government to double efforts towards the safety of peace-loving communities. Ohepo escaped, but some of his neighbours were not that fortunate.

Ada Adole is a survivor whose pain goes beyond the bullet wound she sustained following a shot in her hand. She was lucky to have escaped but lost a three-year-old son and another nine-year-old son.

Speaking amid tears from her hospital bed, she said: “We woke up that morning and were preparing to go to church. My first son went outside and the second one followed him. At that time, we didn’t know that anything was happening because the shooting started from another part of Otukpo-Nobi.

“When I began hearing gunshots getting closer, I rushed outside. As I ran out to pick my children, I suddenly heard very close gunshots. They shot the first one and later my three-year-old son was shot also. During the process of trying to get them, I was also shot.

“I didn’t even know where to start from. I just started crying for my children without thinking about myself, even though I had been shot. My only concern at that moment was saving my children. I wanted to save my children, but I failed.

“My husband was not in the compound at the time of the attack. When he came back and saw what had happened, he started shouting. He was devastated and wanted to kill himself.”

Surrounded by family members and sympathizers at the hospital, Adole lamented that the reality of what had happened was still too difficult for her to absorb: “It still feels like a nightmare.”

Another survivor in the same ward, Ene Adagba, said on sighting the herders, she ran for her dear life but as she made to run, the herders shot her in her legs, sending her crashing on the ground. Although she was still in pains, she was full of gratitude to God: “Just help me thank God because only God knows how I survived that attack. I would have been a dead person by now. When I fell to the ground, I may have fainted out of fear because I didn’t remember what happened again until much later.”

The attack has led to outrage in Otukpo and beyond. Community members, including women and youths blocked the federal highways in protest. They besieged the palace of the Och’Idoma, Agabaidu John Odogbo, bearing with them some of the dead bodies.

Responding, the Och’Otukpo, Chief John Eimonye, directed all armed herders, bandits and terrorists to leave Otukpoland immediately. He explained that the decision was informed by the need to protect residents amid growing insecurity and repeated violent attacks in the area.

The traditional ruler stressed that the directive should not be viewed as ethnic profiling or discrimination against any group but rather as a necessary step by a concerned leader to safeguard the lives, peace and security of his people. He vowed that Otukpo would not surrender to criminal elements, declaring that his people were prepared to defend their ancestral land.

Senatorial candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dr. David Olofu and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Michael Aondoakaa, condemned the attacks, describing the killings as barbaric acts of terrorism against innocent residents living peacefully on their ancestral lands.

While Olofu called on both the federal and state governments to accord urgent priority to the protection of vulnerable communities in Benue South against the unrelenting attacks by suspected murderous herdsmen, Aondakaa noted that the latest violence highlighted the continued vulnerability of many Benue communities to deadly attacks, displacement and disruption of farming activities, urging government and security agencies to strengthen their  operations, improve their intelligence gathering, deploy more personnel to flashpoints and ensure that perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted.

He called on the Federal Government to conduct a thorough investigation into both the Otukpo-Nobi attack and the recent killing of MACBAN chairman, Ardo Muhammed, saying Nigerians deserve to know the truth behind both incidents.

Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) condemned the killings. It expressed sympathy with the victims and their families, urging the authorities to conduct a proper investigation to fish out the perpetrators.

It absolved Fulani herders of any complicity in the attack, arguing that Fulani residents had been largely driven out of Otukpo since the previous year. 

It also ruled out the insinuation that the attack was a reprisal of the killing of Muhammed while pointing to the existing communal disputes among communities in the area as possible factors to be investigated.

Benue State Police Command condemned the attack, describing it as cruel and tragic. Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, said the command immediately deployed tactical teams and other security personnel to restore order, prevent further attacks and launch investigations.

He assured residents that efforts were underway to identify, arrest and prosecute those responsible while additional security personnel have been deployed to the affected communities. They urged residents to remain calm, avoid reprisals and provide useful information to aid investigations.

Governor Hyacinth Alia visited the communities and victims with an assurance of his determination to protect Benue people and their land. He charged the people to always be vigilant to identify suspicious moves and alert the relevant authorities to nip in the bud, potential attacks.

The governor claimed he has done so much in providing the needed logistics, motivation as well as complemented the strength of the security forces, vowing that he will not rest but continue until terrorists are flushed out. At Ochi’Idoma’s Palace, he said: “It is my obligation to protect all lives and I am assuring you we shall never rest on our oars until peace fully returns to our communities.”