On Tuesday, armed men suspected of being vigilante personnel ambushed an 18-seater bus transporting passengers from Zaki/Biam in Benue State to Maihura in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State, leaving at least 15 people missing, including women and children.
According to reports, the event occurred at Gankwe village, located on the Donga-Mararaban-Baissa road in the state’s Donga Local Government Area.
Mr. Mpuuga Mbaave, the bus driver who narrowly averted death by machete cut wounds, told media over the phone that armed men in vigilante clothing attacked his bus.
“I transported 18 passengers from Zaki/Biam in Benue State to Maihura in Taraba State, and as we approached Mararaba, I noticed numerous individuals in Vigilante uniforms. I suspected something was awry, so I parked the car.
“One of the locals who was passing by advised me to proceed. According to him, kidnappers killed two Vigilante personnel, and the vigilante arrived to carry their bodies.
“As I came closer, some of the Vigilante troops started chanting, ‘kill all of them, kill all of them,’ it’s their guys (Tiv) that killed our comrades, and they started hitting the passengers and cutting them with machetes.
“They ordered the passengers out of the bus and forced them to lie face down. I refused to come down, but when I realized things were getting out of hand, I decided to leap off the bus and run away. My conductor also followed me. “They came after us, cutting us with a machete, but we ran for our lives,” he said.
Hon. Ezra Voka, Chairman of the Doonga Local Government Council, confirmed the event and stated that he was immediately searching for the missing folks in the neighboring forest.
“Please, my friend, I am already in the jungle searching for the missing folks. We can’t discuss much now until I get more information from here,” he said.