Three siblings travelling with their mother’s corpse from Abuja to Benue State for burial have been reportedly abdvcted by gvnmen
The incident happened on Saturday.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that the incident occurred between Omutele and Ankpechi in Oglewu District at about 4am.
The gvnmen, according to sources, intercepted the victims’ vehicle along the Ogobia–Otukpo Road in Ohimini Local Government Area of the state.
The abdvction is the second reported attack on mourners conveying a corpse for burial within one week, heightening concerns over worsening insecurity on roads linking Benue and neighbouring states.
A resident of Omutele community, who identified himself simply as Elijah, told the news outlet that residents were jolted awake by gvnshots between 3am and 4am.
“We heard sporadic gvnshots between 3am and 4am today (Saturday), and we thought Fulani herdsmen were attacking our community.
“But at daybreak, we learnt that gvnmen k!dnapped some people escorting the corpse of their mother from Abuja to Iklenyi community in neighbouring Okpokwu Local Government Area for burial,” he said.
A video circulating on social media claimed that the victims’ vehicle developed a mechanical fault, leaving the family stranded on the highway before the a.ttackers struck.
It was not immediately clear whether the corpse was also taken by the gvnmen.
The latest abdvction comes barely a week after gvnmen ambushed a funeral convoy transporting the remains of a late Deputy Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Augustine Ikwue, along the Ochadamu-Ejule Road in Kogi State.
The a.ttackers abdvcted nine mourners and briefly seized the deceased’s corpse before abandoning it, allowing family members to recover it for burial.
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