Four people were killed in an ambush on Sunday morning along the Aila Odugheho road in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State. The victims, identified as Ochefije Elijah Ojema, Igojuju Husaini, Odiya Ochowehi, and Ochoyoda Adejo, were on their way to a nearby village when attacked. Danny Uloko, a resident, said suspected Fulani herders carried out the ambush. Agatu Local Government Chairman Melvin Ejeh confirmed the killings and attributed the attackers' shift to ambush tactics to increased security in communities. He said clearance operations were ongoing in the community forest with involvement from security operatives and local vigilantes. Ejeh noted that robust security measures had made direct attacks on communities more difficult. The Benue Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, said she had not received an official report as she could not reach the Agatu Divisional Police Officer. Killings in the area have risen recently. On the previous Thursday, five people including a traditional ruler, his wife and son, were killed in Olegabulu community in the same LGA.
Melvin Ejeh claims strong security has forced attackers to switch to ambushes, yet the ambush still happened under that same security watch. The people of Agatu are being told attacks are harder to carry out, but the dead are still piling up. Four families now mourn while the forest clearance continues with no sign it stops the bloodshed. If the current strategy is working, why does death keep arriving by the roadside?
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