Gunmen abduct wife, helper of Ortom’s ex-Chief of Staff, Orbunde

Suspected herdsmen have reportedly abducted the wife and house help of former Chief of Staff to Benue Governor Terwase Orbunde. Hon. Orbunde, who previously served as Chief of Staff to former Governor Samuel Ortom, resigned to vie for the PDP governorship primary before later joining the All Progressives Congress (APC), though he did not succeed in the race.

The incident occurred near the Genocide Cemetery along Mobile Barracks-Welfare Quarters Road in Makurdi, the state capital, around 6 pm on Friday. During a visit to inspect their farm situated by the roadside, the trio—Hon. Orbunde, Mrs. Abigail Kashimana Orbunde, and their house help, Patience Ogute—were suddenly confronted by five gunmen after completing the farm inspection and settling the workers.

In the ensuing altercation, Hon. Orbunde sustained a gunshot wound to his right arm, while the attackers abducted Mrs. Abigail Kashimana Orbunde and Patience Ogute. The gunfire sent villagers and passersby scattering for safety in all directions.

As they forced the women to accompany them to an undisclosed location, Hon. Orbunde, bleeding heavily from his arm, struggled to keep pace with the group. Eyewitnesses, observing from a distance, recounted that the leader of the assailants eventually instructed Hon. Orbunde to leave, after which the gunmen took the abducted women away. Good Samaritans swiftly came to Hon. Orbunde’s aid, rushing him to the hospital for treatment.