At least one person has been killed and another injured in an attack on the Ikobi community in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State.
This comes less than a week after bandits killed four individuals in the same local government region.
According to a local who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being attacked, the victims were on their way home from Ikobi and Oloba villages on Monday when they were ambushed and attacked.
According to him, the victim died unexpectedly after returning from Lagos to meet his elderly widowed mother.
The source said, “One person, Aminu Akanu, was killed between Ikobi and Oloba at 5 p.m. We buried him about 11 p.m. last night (Monday).
“He came from Lagos recently to see his mother. His father, a police officer, died some years ago.
“He went to the LG headquarters in Ugbokpo yesterday, Monday, February 19, 2024, to settle some things before coming to Ikobi, and that was when he was attacked at Oloba.”
According to residents, the victims were shot around 5 p.m.; fortunately, one escaped with gunshot wounds.
“Right now, as I speak to you, bandits are at Akpete (another village), burning houses,” one of the sources claimed.
When reached, Eche Ikobi, Chairman of the Apa Development Association, verified the killing.
He said they were riding their bike back to the village when they were shot.
“One died on the spot, while the other person escaped with gunshot wounds. He is receiving treatment as we speak,” he said.
Meanwhile, the House of Assembly member representing Apa State Constituency, Abu Umoru, has verified the attacks and said the military has repelled the terrorists.
Attempts to reach the Benue state command’s spokesperson, Catherine Anene, were unsuccessful because she did not return calls as of press time on Tuesday.