Six people, including the driver of a commercial vehicle, were killed by gunmen while traveling from Takum Local Government Area to Wukari Local Government Area in Taraba State.
The attack took place in Sai, a border community stretching into Takum LGA from Benue State. The chairman of the Takum council, John Ali, confirmed the tragic incident on Monday.
The Takum-Wukari Express Road, where the attack occurred, has a history of violence; it is the same area where the traditional ruler of Chanchanji and his son were recently ambushed and killed by gunmen as they returned from a funeral in Takum.
Ali explained that the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) had previously been warned to avoid using the route early in the morning due to the dangerous conditions.
“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.
“The hoodlums emerged from the bush and opened fire on the moving vehicle and killed 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,” Ali stated.
He assured that the government is determined to bring the perpetrators to justice and that the hoodlums responsible for the attack would not go unpunished.
