Benue in Blood Again: 7 Killed, Hundreds Displaced in Fresh Herdsmen Attack on Otobi Community
Otukpo, Benue State | April 16, 2025 – IDNN Conflict & Security Desk
A renewed wave of bloodshed swept through the Otobi community in Akpa district of Otukpo Local Government Area, Benue State, as suspected armed herdsmen launched a brutal evening attack on Tuesday, killing at least seven people, wounding several others, and sending hundreds of residents fleeing into surrounding forests.
The attack, which began around 5:30 p.m., is the second assault on the community in April, coming just days after a security guard was killed at the Federal Ministry of Water Resources Multipurpose Dam located in the area.
Eyewitness Confirms Carnage as Search for Victims Continues
Eyewitnesses who joined local security response teams confirmed the death toll at seven, with dozens of homes razed and residents still missing. One of them said search operations were ongoing to find the wounded and displaced.
“It was an ambush. The community was unprepared. We’ve found seven bodies so far, but many people are still unaccounted for,” the source told IDNN late Tuesday.
“My Family Is Running as I Speak” — Otobi Resident Cries Out
A panicked resident, Edwin Emma, made a desperate call to journalists as the assault unfolded.
“We are being attacked by herdsmen in Otobi. My wife and children are fleeing as I speak. Please call for help,” he said.
The Benue State lawmaker for Otukpo-Akpa Constituency, Kennedy Angbo, also confirmed the incident in a phone call to Channels TV, saying “hundreds have fled” and many others remain in hiding.
🔥 Burnt Homes, Unseen Tears: Otobi Residents Face Second Attack in April
Otobi is not new to tragedy. In early April, a security guard stationed at the multipurpose dam was killed under similar circumstances. Locals now fear that the community has become a target zone in the larger pattern of escalating herdsmen violence in North Central Nigeria.
The latest incident compounds the trauma of persistent displacement, food insecurity, and rising fatalities that have plagued Benue, widely referred to as Nigeria’s “Food Basket.”
Broader Pattern: Plateau State Also Under Siege
The Otobi killings come just days after a series of coordinated attacks in Plateau State left over 100 people dead in Bokkos and Bassa local government areas, indicating a widening corridor of bloodshed stretching across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
The Nigerian Police Force had yet to issue a formal statement on the Otobi attack as of press time.
📌 IDNN ANALYSIS
The Herdsmen attack on Otobi community in Benue is the latest flashpoint in Nigeria’s rural security crisis, a slow-burning insurgency of displacement, destruction, and death that has outpaced both government response and national outrage.
Repeated attacks without consequence have normalized horror for communities like Otobi. With no clear security architecture protecting Nigeria’s agrarian belt, the state’s silence becomes complicity, and every new attack only widens the crater of distrust between citizens and the government.
If the bloodbath in Otobi goes unaddressed, Benue risks slipping fully into lawlessness, where citizens run for survival while leaders fumble for statements.
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