[News] Suspected kidnappers behead councillor-elect and his cousin in Benue

Kidnappers suspected to be herdsmen have beheaded a councillor-elect, Paul Ojile and his cousin, Agbo Onogwu in Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State.

Ojile was elected a councillor for Orokam ward 3 on April 30th 2022, and awaiting inauguration later this month before his murder.

It was gathered that Ojile and Onogwu went missing on Thursday, June 17 and were found dead on Friday June 17.

According to a resident of the community, Sunny, the duo had joined hunters and members of vigilante groups within the communities who had gone in search of the kidnap victims on Thursday.

“The problem started on Wednesday when some Fulani herdsmen abducted two residents of Orokam, the councillor-elect and his cousin joined other groups of hunters and vigilantes as well as security men in search of the kidnap victim only to discover that the councillor-elect and his cousin had been beheaded,” the resident said.

The Chairman of the local government, Samuel Onu, who confirmed the incident said that the councillor-elect and his cousin were beheaded.

He lamented that both Owupa and Orokam communities had been under the grip of abduction being orchestrated by suspected Fulanis in recent times.

“There was a kidnap yesterday; actually in the last three days, the herdsmen were troubling the area, there had been incessant kidnapping in the local government,” he explained.

“They left one community in Owukpa and they went to Orokam; on their way, they kidnapped one man. The Councillor-elect who lives in the village is a hunter. He, his cousin, other hunters and the vigilante with operation zenda had entered the forest to see if they could rescue the man that was kidnapped,”

“It was when they were to return yesterday (Thursday) that they noticed two of them were missing but they were able to arrest two herders. It was this (Friday) morning that they were able to check again and found their lifeless body beheaded – the Councillor-elect and his cousin.

“The arrested herdsmen had been taken to Makurdi by Operation Zenda”, adding that the traditional heads of Owukpa and Orokam has been begging the youth who blocked roads in the area.

“We have all been talking to them. It’s a little bit calm now,” the chairman added.