Armed men attacked the passengers from Zaki/Biam in Benue State, who were heading to Maihula in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The police in Taraba State have confirmed the killing of seven people in an attack on an 18-seater bus at Gamkwe, a village in Mararaban-Baissa of Donga Local Government Area of the state.
In the incident that occurred on Tuesday, armed men attacked the passengers from Zaki/Biam in Benue State, who were heading to Maihula in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The commissioner of police in the state, David Iloyonomon, informed journalists that the police had sent officers to the area.
He said the officers found seven bodies in the bush in the area while on patrol to control the crisis involving members of the Ichen and Tiv ethnic groups.
Mr Iloyonomon said trouble started on the Tuesday when Ichen youths from Mararaba area of Donga reported to the police area command in the area that a pastor and his church member went missing while on their way to the church.
"On Tuesday at about 3 p.m., the youths found the decomposing bodies of both the pastor and the other persons, that was when trouble started, the Ichen youths went into town and started attacking the Tiv residents. It took the efforts of our men to rescue some of the Tiv people to Takum for safety.
"On Wednesday, while our men were on patrol to maintain law and order to ensure that peace returned, they found seven dead bodies of 5 women, one man and a baby; they had been evacuated to the police station," Mr Iloyonomon stated.
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Driver's account
However, the driver of the bus, Jimen Angera, who escaped with machete cuts, said at least 15 people, including women and children, were killed in the attack.
In a video post, he said the attackers, suspected to be members of a vigilante group, were armed with guns, machetes and other light arms.
"I loaded 18 passengers from Zaki/Biam. Immediately after Mararaba, I saw many people in vigilante uniform, they were many. I suspected something was wrong, I then stopped. One of the villagers told me that I should just go, he said two members of the vigilante group were killed by kidnappers; that was why they gathered
"As I moved closer, some of the vigilante group members started shouting, 'kill all of them, it is their people that killed our members'. They started attacking the passengers and cutting them with machetes.
"They removed all of us, forced us to lie face down. My bus was still on, when I discovered that it was getting out of hand, I decided to jump up to the bus and left (leave) the passengers. My conductor also followed me, all of us were cut with machetes, that was how we escaped and left the passengers in their hands," Mr Angera narrated.
The chairman of Donga Local Government, Ezra Voka, also confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES on phone. He said he had already joined in the search for the victims.
"I am already in the bush in search of the missing people, we can't talk much now until I get more information from here," he said.
