Five passengers and the driver of a commercial bus travelling from Takum Local Government Area to Wukari LGA in Taraba State, have been killed by gunmen.
The victims were killed at a boundary area between Taraba and Benue states along Takum-Wukari road at about 7:23am on Monday, August 12, 2024.
It was gathered that the gunmen suspected to be bandits came out of the bush near Sai village with guns and machetes, and attacked the passengers, sparing a woman and a baby.
The bandits, after killing the passengers, also proceeded to attack farmers who were working close to where the victims were killed.
The victims include a lecturer at the Federal University Wukari and the Deputy Registrar of Taraba State School of Health Technology.
Also among the victims was a secondary school principal, Mr Samuel Mbapuun, who was transferred from a secondary school in Takum to another secondary school in Wukari Local Government Area.
He was reportedly on his way to report to the new school he was posted to when he was killed.
It was learnt that the lecturer from the Federal University Wukari was returning to Wukari after spending the weekend with his family in Takum.
A source from Takum town said there was serious tension in the community following the killing of travellers who were all indigenes of the town.
The source further stated that soldiers were however sent to patrol some areas around the town to calm the situation.
The spokesperson of the State Police Command, DSP Kwache Gambo, confirmed the identities of the victims to journalists.
The chairman of Takum council, John Ali, who confirmed the incident said that the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has been warned against plying the route early in the morning due to the volatile nature of the road.
“The first vehicle that carried about five passengers left Takum in the early hours of Monday at about 6:00 am, the vehicle alongside its occupants approached Sai a community in Benue state and we usually have problems in that axis,” he said.
“The hoodlums emerged from the bush and opened fire on the moving vehicle and k!lled the six passengers including the driver.
“I have instructed the security agencies to carry the corpse, deposit it, and go after the hoodlums.
“Already, there is a team of security agencies put in place by the Governor shortly after the killing of the third-class chief of Chanchanji and his son. The patrol team was preparing to move into their various units of the patrol as they normally come out around 7:00 am but the incident happened between 6:00 am to 6:30 am
“We earlier had a security meeting with the NURTW and other unions where we warned against plying the road as early as possible in the morning because security agencies on patrol have not resumed duty. I do not know why they failed to intimate their members or why this driver left early in the morning and became a victim.”
He stressed that the hoodlums will not go unpunished as the government is doing everything possible to apprehend the perpetrators.
