At least 15 persons have been reported missing after some unknown gunmen suspected to be vigilante personnel attacked an 18-seater bus conveying passengers from Zaki/Biam in Benue State to Maihura in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State on Tuesday, March 12.
The driver of the bus, Mpuuga Mbaaye who confirmed the incident to newsmen, said the attack happened at Gankwe village along the Donga- Mararaban-Baissa road in the Donga Local Government Area of the state. Mbaaye who escaped with machete cut wounds, said the armed men in vigilante uniform attacked his bus.
“I loaded 18 passengers from Zaki/Biam in Benue State to Maihura in Taraba state, and on our way close to Mararaba, I saw many people in Vigilante uniform. I suspected something was wrong, so I parked the vehicle. One of the villagers who was passing by told me that I should proceed. According to him, two members of the Vigilante personnel were killed by kidnappers, and the vigilante came to carry their corpses.
As I moved closer, some of the Vigilante personnel started shouting, ‘kill all of them,’ kill all of them,’ it’s their people (Tiv) that killed our members, and they started attacking the passengers and cutting them with machetes,
They ordered the passengers out of the bus and forced them to lie facedown. I refused to come down, but when I discovered that it was getting out of hand, I decided to jump out of the bus and ran away. My conductor too followed me. They came after us cutting us with a machete, but we ran for our dear lives,” he said
The state police command is yet to confirm the incident.