Robbers attack journalist, rape female passengers in Benue

From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi

Armed robbers have reportedly attacked passengers, among them, a journalist, Amos Aar, who reports for the National Record Newspaper.

According to him, they were attacked on Tuesday at about 9pm along Naka-Makurdi road, few kilometers from Makurdi, the Benue state capital, when a passengers vehicles they boarded from Otukpo to Makurdi, ran into the robbery scene.

Narrating his ordeal, Amos said the robbers also raped two female passengers in the operation which lasted for more than an hour without any security intervention.

He said the robbers numbering about 10 also collected their phones and other valuables on them while threatening to kill anyone who do not have a handset or money on them.

According to him, the robbers maltreated some passengers who begged for their sim cards.

“We took off from Otukpo at about 7:30pm because there was no passengers at the park due to the increment in transport fare as a result of the high cost of fuel. When we left, we were coming without any challenge until we saw a vehicle in front of us close to Adaka, a village before Makurdi but we thought it was a security check point. When we drew closer, we met the robbers.”

He thank God for sparing their lives in the hands of the robbers and cautioned passengers plying the road to avoid night journeys even as he called on the security agencies to be more prominent along that axis to rid of the state of the criminals.

Recall that Naka Divisional Police Officer (DPO), was ambushed and killed on the same road and while mourners and other road users have been attacked and kidnapped on the same road.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Benue State Command, SP Catherine Anene, in a message said she was yet to get any information on the incident.