Gunmen kill two, abduct another in Benue settlement

Gunmen suspected to be members of a wanted militia gang-leader, Terwase Akwaza, stormed Wankya settlement of Zaki-Biam town in Ukum LGA, killing two persons and abducting another.

The Guardian gathered from residents, who asked not to be named, that the assailants stormed the area at about 11:30 p.m., forced doors open and took the victims away.

The sources gave the names of those killed as Saater Wantu, younger brother to the Benue State correspondent of The Guardian Newspaper, Lagos, and Denen, a recharge card seller in the settlement. The third person, Terseer Wantu, escaped unhurt.

People in the area have started feeling for fear of the unknown.

Narrating his ordeal, Terseer said he and the deceased persons had gone to bed without any premonition, only to witness the invasion by the bandits, who took them away at gunpoint.

Still agitated with fright, he added that the matter has been reported to the police.

Sources at Zaki Biam Divisional Police Office confirmed the killing, noting that the corpses of the victims were recovered along a bush path close to Tse-Manger settlement, Ukum LGA.

“The two dead bodies have been recovered and deposited at St. Anthony’s Catholic Hospital Zaki-Biam.”

This is the second incident in less than two weeks where bandits have launched attacks on the settlement. The previous one, last week, claimed the lives of four persons.