Former Benue Government Official Shot by Bandits Dies

Former Secretary to the Benue State Government, David Salifu, has died from gunshot wounds. He was attacked by suspected bandits on the Wukari-Makurdi road.

Salifu served as SSG under former Governor Gabriel Suswam. He was also a lecturer at the Federal University, Wukari, in Taraba State.

Sources told The PUNCH that Salifu was travelling from Wukari to Makurdi on Thursday. He ran into armed men who stopped his vehicle.

According to the sources, the assailants ordered him to get out of his car and get on a motorcycle. They shot him after he refused to comply.

A close associate of Salifu, David Olofu, who is also the African Democratic Congress’ Benue South senatorial candidate, confirmed the news in a phone interview on Friday. Olofu said Salifu died early Friday at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi.

“He was a member of my campaign council and a confidant. I heard that he left Wukari and was heading to Benue when he ran into hoodlums at the edge of Wukari.

“They stopped his car and asked him to come down but then shot him.

“He was rushed to the teaching hospital in Wukari but due to the severity of his injury, we contacted the Vice Chancellor of the University of Wukari. He arranged for an ambulance to take him to Abuja with a team of doctors.

“But for some reason, he was taken to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi where he died early today,” Olofu said.

It is still unclear why Salifu was taken to Makurdi instead of Abuja. Efforts to get a response from the Taraba State Police Command were not successful at the time of this report.