GUNMEN have reportedly killed five passengers and the driver of a commercial vehicle travelling from Takum Local Government Area to Wukari Local Government Area in Taraba State.
The victims were killed at a boundary community between Taraba and Benue states along Takum-Wukari Road at about 7:23 am on Monday, 12 August 2024.
It was gathered that the gunmen, suspected to be bandits, came out of a bush near Sai village with guns and machetes and attacked the passengers, sparing a woman and a baby.
The bandits, after killing the passengers, also proceeded to attack farmers who were working close to where the victims were killed.
The victims include a lecturer at the Federal University Wukari and the Deputy Registrar of Taraba State School of Health Technology.
Also among the victims was a secondary school principal, Mr Samuel Mbapuun, who was transferred from a secondary school in Takum to another secondary school in Wukari Local Government Area.
He was reportedly on his way to report to the new school he was posted to when he was killed.
It was learnt that the lecturer from the Federal University Wukari was returning to Wukari after spending the weekend with his family in Takum.
A source from Takum town said there was tension in the community following the killing of the travellers who were all indigenes of the town.
The source further stated that soldiers were, however, sent to patrol some areas around the town to calm the situation.
The spokesperson of the State Police Command, DSP Kwache Gambo, confirmed the identities of the victims to journalists.
Eighteen-Eleven Media