At least 13 bodies have been recovered following an attack on a community in Benue State, in central Nigeria. According to Channels Television, the assault targeted the Efoyi-Uboku community in the Otukpo Local Government Area, striking residents in a part of the country that has repeatedly been hit by deadly violence.
The attack happened in the early hours of Thursday. According to the report, the residents were asleep at the time, and were attacked in their sleep, with their lives cut short abruptly. The timing meant that many of the victims had little or no chance to react before the violence reached them.
So far, 13 bodies have been recovered, but the full toll may be higher. The report noted that many people are still missing, meaning the number of those killed or unaccounted for could rise as the search continues in the affected community and its surroundings.
The attack does not appear to be an isolated incident. According to the broadcast, it forms part of a wider wave of violence, with major attacks reported between Monday and Thursday of the same week, particularly in Kaduna and Benue States, two areas that have seen repeated bloodshed.
Those killed spanned different ages and families. The victims included women and men, mothers and fathers, as well as children. The report highlighted that among the dead was a child described as just four years old, underlining that entire families were caught up in the attack.
According to the details read out in the report, the victims included members of the Catholic Church as well as another local church congregation. The broadcast listed the victims by name, age and community, stressing that those who died were people with names and families, and not merely figures in a statistic.
Benue State, long described as the food basket of the nation because of its fertile farmland, has repeatedly suffered such attacks over the years. The latest bloodshed in the Otukpo area adds to a grim pattern of violence in the state and in other parts of northern and central Nigeria, where communities have faced recurring assaults.