Eight Killed in Suspected Terrorist Attack on Benue Communities

Eight people were killed in a suspected terrorist attack on communities in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State on July 12, 2026, AllAfrica reported. The victims comprised five adults and three children. Commissioner of Police Cletus Nwadiogbu stated the incident was purely a terrorist attack in which assailants employed guerrilla tactics, attacking communities before fleeing into nearby forests.

He spent most of Sunday in the affected communities with other security personnel. Angry youths blocked roads in protest after the attack. They agreed to reopen the road after security engagement and were waiting for water tankers to extinguish fires, Nwadiogbu said.

Investigators were still working to determine whether the attack was linked to previous killings in the area. Suspected armed herders attacked Akpachi village in Ugboju and Otukpo-Nobi communities between July 11 and July 12, killing several residents and injuring many others, AllAfrica reported. Youths carried some victims' bodies to the Och'Idoma Palace in protest.

Governor Hyacinth Alia condemned the killings as barbaric and inhuman. He directed security agencies to intensify surveillance, pursue perpetrators and deploy additional personnel. Alia stated the attacks were a direct attempt to sabotage the progress of the state.

Amnesty International called for an independent, impartial and effective investigation into the attacks on Otukpo-Nobi and Akpachi-Ugboju communities. The organization stated that families reported several people remained missing and many others sustained serious injuries.

It added that hundreds of thousands of displaced persons in Benue were living in camps with inadequate access to water, food, sanitation and healthcare.