AkweyaTV is receiving urgent and disturbing reports of a heavy attack currently underway in the Otobi Community of Otukpo Local Government Area in Benue State.
Eyewitness accounts indicate that armed men, suspected to be kidnappers or an militia, descended upon the community at approximately 9:00 PM tonight. The assailants reportedly stormed the Otobi Dam area, where a young security guard working at the facility was tragically killed.
The violence did not end there, as the armed individuals proceeded into Otobi town, unleashing a barrage of gunfire and sending residents into a state of panic.
AkweyaTV has spoken exclusively with Mr. John Scoty Anyebe, the National President of the Otobi Community Development Association, who has confirmed the horrifying incident. Mr. Anyebe stated that as of 11:00 PM tonight, palpable tension remains thick in the air as community members are actively mobilising a response to the ongoing threat.
Efforts to reach the Benue State Police Command for official confirmation and details have so far been unsuccessful at press time.
This is a developing story, and AkweyaTV is gathering more information on the situation, including the number of casualties and the motive behind this brutal attack. A few days ago the community had combed the bush and chased away suspected kidnappers.
A day earlier on Thursday, 3rd April 2025, a group known as the Benue Rebirth Movement drew attention to a growing wave of fear and desperation engulfing the Benue South Senatorial District, also known as Benue Zone C, as resurgent and worsening insecurity grips the region. The Benue Rebirth Movement (BRM), painted a grim picture of relentless attacks by suspected herders and kidnappers, leaving communities traumatised and demanding urgent government intervention.
According to the BRM, hardly a day goes by without reports of violence across the nine local government areas of Benue South. Innocent civilians are being killed in their homes, on their farms, and along the roads with alarming frequency and brutality. This is coupled with a surge in abduction cases, where defenseless citizens in towns like Otukpo are snatched for ransom and, in some instances, brutally murdered.
The memory of past high-profile crimes, including the sensational multiple-bank robbery in Otukpo and the abduction of University of Jos medical students in 2024, remains fresh. The BRM highlighted the recent gruesome murder of a young legal practitioner, Barrister Mark Ofikwu, in his Otukpo residence, underscoring the deteriorating security situation despite previous assurances from authorities.
The statement detailed a series of horrifying incidents, including the tragic killing of Mr. Akatu Onche, a retired Comptroller of Immigration, in his Asa II home on Monday, March 31st. During this attack, three other individuals, including a couple, were also abducted. Just days prior, Mrs. Felicia Ochigbo, a nursing mother, was brutally killed in the Old NTA Area of Asa community. The BRM also cited the recent killing of an Igbo resident in Otukpo and the murder of five men by suspected ethnic militias last month in the Okpamaju Community of Okete Ward.
Survivors of these attacks report receiving threatening phone calls, forcing them to abandon their homes in search of safety. The BRM expressed deep concern over the “bravado and the casualness” with which these crimes are committed, creating an atmosphere of lawlessness.
The group voiced its dismay at the lack of tangible consequences for perpetrators, noting a pattern of official condemnation and assurances followed by arrests that rarely lead to prosecution or convictions. This has fuelled suspicion of “deliberate indifference, gross ineptitude or even connivance on the part of the authorities.”
While acknowledging the broader issue of insecurity in Nigeria, the BRM emphasised that the current level of violence in Benue South is unprecedented for a region historically known for its peace and tranquility. They expressed alarm at the southward spread of insecurity from the northern states, through the Middle Belt and Benue North, and its firm grip on Benue South. The BRM warned that without decisive action, the entire country could soon be engulfed.
The Benue Rebirth Movement called on both the Federal and Benue State governments to urgently “re-strategise, re-arm its security agencies and re-commit themselves to arresting the ravaging insecurity” in Benue South, which they believe is currently the worst affected. They stressed that the consequences of inaction are dire, with increasing numbers of Idoma people becoming refugees within Benue State, facing food insecurity due to farmers being driven off their land, and a growing restiveness among the youth.
The BRM pointed to recent anti-insecurity protests in other parts of Benue State as a warning of the potential for widespread unrest if the security crisis in Benue South persists.
The group urged the Benue State Government to strengthen its collaboration with federal authorities and security agencies to halt the southward progression of insecurity. They concluded by stating that “the time for political rhetorics over the nation’s insecurity is past. It is time for action.”
The press statement was signed by the National Coordinator of the BRM, AVM Monday Morgan (Rtd).
*This story was updated to included the press statement from the BRM.
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