A gang of gunmen has killed a 15-year-old boy identified as Muhammad Isiyaku, herder and carted away hundreds of cattle during a deadly attack on a grazing herd on a community in Benue State.
Muhammad was reportedly ambushed by the gang and shot dead while tending cattle belonging to his family in an incident which resulted in the theft of a large number of livestock, leaving the family in grief.
Also in the attack, which occurred around 7 a.m. on Monday in Olahimu Village, located in the Ogoli Oboju area of Otukpo Local Government Area, four other people were initially reported missing in the aftermath of the attack. Three of them, Muhammad Ismail, 27, Muhammad Hamza, 13, and another teenager, Abu Ali, a labourer, were later found after escaping from their captors and reuniting with their family members.
Meanwhile, another labourer, Saidu Musa, remains unfound but efforts to locate him continue.
A security source, who disclosed the incident on Wednesday, said that the cattle herd belonged to the family of the late one Ardo Muhammad, who was reportedly killed in a separate attack in the same area weeks earlier.
Reports from the source indicated that about 500 cattle were driven away by the gunmen during the attack.
However, search teams later recovered many of the animals in surrounding locations. Several cattle were also reportedly killed, while an unspecified number remain missing, the affected families, calling on the authorities to help rescue the remaining missing person and bring those responsible to justice.
Family members have, however, appealed to the Benue State Government and security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS), to intensify efforts to recover the remaining stolen cattle and track down the attackers.
They further urged authorities to strengthen security deployment across Olahimu, Ogoli Oboju and other border communities within Otukpo Local Government Area to prevent future attacks and safeguard lives and property.