Police find 7 bodies of abducted travellers in Taraba forest

This disclosure follows an attack on an 18-seater bus that loaded passengers from Zako Biam in Benue State, heading to Maihula in the Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State, but was ambushed at Gamkwe village in Donga Local Government of Taraba State, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.

The bus was ambushed by unknown gunmen believed to be vigilantes, leaving at least 15 individuals, including women and children, missing.

The bus driver, who managed to escape, reported that the armed men appeared to be mourning the death of their member when they attacked it, claiming the passengers were allegedly Tivs kinsmen, and were responsible for the death of the vigilante member.

Taraba State Police Commissioner, CP David Iloyonomon, said policemen found the seven dead bodies; a man, five women, and a baby in the forest while on patrol to control the brewing agitation between the Ichen and Tiv ethnic groups in the Donga Local Government Area of the State.

He said, “Today, while our men were on patrol to maintain law and order and to ensure that peace returns, they found seven dead bodies including five women, a man, and a baby. The corpses have been evacuated to the police station,”

The commissioner clarified that the incident on Tuesday began when youths from the Ichen community in the Mararaba area of Donga LGA alerted the Police Area Command that a Pastor and one of his church members were missing while enroute to the church.

Iloyonomon added that on the same day, the youths discovered the decomposing bodies of the missing individuals and subsequently began attacking the Tiv residents in the town.

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