Suspected herdsmen assaulted Terwase Orbunde, an ex-Chief of Staff to Governor Samuel Ortom, on Friday evening. He sustained a bullet wound in his arm, and his wife and maid were kidnapped.
The incident occurred near the Genocide Cemetery, where the victims of the 2018 herdsmen killings are interred, along the Mobile Barracks-Welfare Quarters Road in Makurdi, the state capital, around 6:00 pm.
Orbunde suffered a gunshot wound to his right arm, and the assailants abducted Mrs. Abigail Kashimana Orbunde and her maid, Patience Ogute.
According to unnamed eyewitnesses, Orbunde and his family were returning to their car after inspecting the weeding on their farm when five gunmen ambushed and attacked them.
“The herdsmen opened fire and Mister Orbunde received a bullet on the right arm while they ordered him and the women to follow them to an unknown destination.”
The shooting was said to have caused villagers and passersby to scamper for safety in different directions, the witness says.
As they marched, the former Chief of Staff was bleeding heavily and struggling to keep pace. Consequently, the group’s leader ordered him to leave, while the gunmen escorted the women to an undisclosed location. Meanwhile, Good Samaritans rushed Honorable Orbunde to the hospital, a witness reported.
Benue Police Command spokesperson Sewuese Anene confirmed that Orbunde had reported to the police station the previous night with a gunshot wound on his right arm.
“Mister Terwase Orbunde did indeed visit the police station last night, suffering from a gunshot wound to his right arm. He reported an assault by gunmen and expressed concern for his wife and maid’s whereabouts,” stated the spokesperson.
The police promptly deployed to the Adeke-Utur area along the Mobile Barracks road to follow the trail through the bush, but were initially unable to locate them. The vehicle has been recovered, and efforts to rescue his family members are ongoing, the spokesperson added.
The police are actively investigating the matter, the official noted.
