The gunmen, armed with AK 47 rifles, attacked the passengers going to Wukari from Takum town in Taraba.

Gunmen on Monday morning killed seven travellers and their driver on the Takum-Wukari road in Taraba State.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the gunmen, suspected to be bandits, armed with AK 47 rifles, attacked the passengers going to Wukari from Takum town.

A Takum resident, who saw the body of the victims and the bullet-ridden vehicle, told PREMIUM TIMES that the incident happened between Chanchangi town in Takum Local Government Area and Saa'yi village in Benue State.

According to the source who asked not to be named for security reasons, "The gunmen opened fire on the vehicle carrying the passengers and killed all of them, including the driver identified as Kabiru, on the spot."

He said the gunmen did not remove anything from the vehicle, adding that they were suspected to be terrorists operating from a forest in Benue State.

John Ali, the chairperson of Takum Local Government Area, also confirmed the incident to journalists.

"I was called in the early hours of today that a Toyota vehicle conveying passengers to Wukari was attacked along Chanchanji," Mr Ali told journalists in Jalingo, the state capital. "I have informed the security agencies and they have visited the area, I am yet to be briefed."