Gunmen Att∆ck Edo Community, Ch0p 0ff Elderly Farmer’s Finger In Failed K!dnap Attemp
Gunmen Attack Edo Community, Chop Off Elderly Farmer’s Finger In Failed Kidnap Attemp
According to accounts from the community, the gunmen attempted to abduct an elderly man identified as Mr. Ukpebor while he was on his farm.
Armed men on Friday morning invaded Idumu-Iyasele in the Ewatto area of Edo State, further heightening fears over rising rural insecurity in the region, as an attempted abduction of an elderly farmer turned violent, leaving the victim severely injured.
Residents said the attackers stormed the farming community at dawn, moving through bush paths toward farmlands where farmers had already begun their day’s work.
According to accounts from the community, the gunmen attempted to abduct an elderly man identified as Mr. Ukpebor while he was on his farm.
“They attacked him on his farm and attempted to kidnap him but due to his age, he could not walk with them. They chopped off one of fingers and then dumped him in the bush. They also inflicted other injuries on him,” a source told SaharaReporters.
Community sources said he was later found and rushed to a hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment.
Although full details of his condition remain unclear, residents described the incident as both “shocking and terrifying,” saying it has further reinforced fears that even the most vulnerable are no longer spared in the wave of attacks affecting farming settlements across Edo State.
The attack has once again drawn attention to the worsening security situation in parts of Edo Central, a region that includes Idumu-Iyasele and surrounding communities, which are increasingly becoming targets for armed groups operating along forest corridors.
The community is also the home community of Senator Joseph Ikpea, who represents Edo Central, adding to mounting public pressure on authorities to intensify security interventions in the area.
For many residents, the latest incident is part of a disturbing pattern that has made farming and rural movement increasingly dangerous.
Earlier in April, reports highlighted another major attack in the state where armed men ambushed a commercial bus along the Benin-Ore Expressway, killing the driver and abducting several passengers in a late-night assault that underscored the vulnerability of highways linking Edo to other parts of southern Nigeria.
In that incident, which occurred around 12:00 am, gunmen targeted a Toyota Hummer bus belonging to Ibom Express Executive Travels Ltd, identified with fleet number 05/035/27.
Eyewitnesses had described a sudden attack in which the vehicle was riddled with gunfire while in motion, forcing it off the road and into a ditch.
A viral video shared on X by Big Sman (@Mr_Sulaiman1) showed the aftermath of the ambush and further amplified public concern over highway safety.
One survivor, who reportedly hid in the bush until daybreak, said the bus had departed from Onitsha in Anambra State and picked up additional passengers in Benin City before encountering the attackers.
Footage recorded at the scene by Don Raphael Okosun, and seen by SaharaReporters, showed the lifeless body of the driver inside the bullet-damaged bus, alongside chaotic scenes as survivors tried to make sense of the attack.
In that incident, three passengers, two men and one woman, managed to escape into the forest, while others were taken away by the attackers. The emotional toll was especially severe for the female survivor, who reportedly watched as her mother was among those abducted.
Security concerns in Edo State have also been compounded by repeated attacks along major transport corridors. In a separate case reported earlier, a commercial driver was killed and three passengers abducted along the Lagos–Benin Expressway after gunmen intercepted a GUO Motors bus in the Iguobazuwa axis.
