Fear and chaos gripped the Otobi-Akpa community in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State on Tuesday evening after suspected herdsmen launched a brutal attack that left at least ten people dead, several missing, and homes burned to the ground.
According to eyewitnesses, the assailants stormed the quiet community around 6 p.m., unleashing terror as they opened fire indiscriminately while advancing through the town.
“They came through the main road leading into the community, all the way to the Federal Government College (FGC) Otobi,” said a distressed local, who works at the college and requested anonymity. “They even killed someone right near the school’s small gate.”
The witness, visibly shaken, also revealed that she lost contact with her two teenage children amid the chaos and feared the worst. Dozens of families, she said, fled toward Otukpo town in search of refuge.
Shockingly, residents claimed that security operatives stationed nearby abandoned their duty posts when the attack began.
“Instead of responding to the gunshots, the police officers we usually see on that road stripped off their uniforms, packed them into their bags, and ran toward Otukpo,” she alleged.
At the time of this report, the full extent of the casualties remained unclear, as a proper headcount was expected to be conducted on Wednesday.
