Three persons have been killed and two others abducted after armed men attacked mourners returning from a burial in Sati-Ikov council ward of Ushongo local government area of Benue state.
The attack, which occurred on Saturday night, is the latest in a series of violent incidents reported in the state in recent weeks.
Residents said the victims were ambushed near the community as they made their way back from the ceremony.
The lawmaker representing Ushongo Constituency in the Benue state House of Assembly, Simon Gabo, confirmed the incident.
Gabo identified those killed as Bem Msughter from Mbakyombo in Daav-Ikov, Aondo Chia from Mbamegh in Daa-Ikov, and Sunday Terwase of Mbakyor in Daav-Ikov.
He said Aondongu Amos, a Point of Sale operator based in Sati-Ikov, and Mrs Arinze, an Igbo patent medicine trader, were abducted.
Gabo said he was informed of the incident in the early hours of Sunday.
“I received a call from my people at about 4 a.m. that they had gone for a burial and on their way back, they ran into armed men. “The armed men shot and killed three of them. They also robbed some residents and kidnapped two people,” he said.
The lawmaker expressed concern over what he described as a steady pattern of attacks in the area, noting that similar incidents had occurred repeatedly in recent weeks.
“Apart from this, we have had one or two such incidents every other week,” he said, adding that three people were also killed in the community about two weeks ago.
Gabo attributed the attacks to armed groups operating across local boundaries, while alleging that the assailants often move from neighbouring Katsina-Ala local government area into Ushongo to carry out attacks.
“They cross from there to our side, attack and return. It is a mountainous area with large forests, which makes it difficult to track them,” he said.