- Deceased Family Demands Justice
By Amos Aar
A COMMERCIAL driver from Mbaduku in Vandeikya LGA of Benue State, Mr. Ternenge Ikpanor, was gruesomely killed in Obudu, Cross River State, on Friday, July 18, 2025, after reportedly delivering goods for a passenger.
The family of the deceased confirmed the incident in a statement dated Monday, July 21, 2025, and signed by Dr Elijah Ikpanor, a lecturer at Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University (MOAUM).
The statement commended the Inspector-General of Police for his swift intervention and urged him to ensure a full and transparent investigation into the killing. It called for the identification and prosecution of all those involved and the release of the corpse to the family for burial.
The family also appealed to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to launch an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Ikpanor’s death and to provide legal and psychological support to his widow and three children.
Findings by National Record indicate that a renewed communal crisis between the Mbaduku Community in Vandeikya and the Obudu Community of Cross River State may be linked to the incident. However, concerns have been raised over the exact location of the murder, as it reportedly occurred in the heart of Obudu Town, far from any known conflict zones.
A video of the killing (viewers discretion is highly advised due to the explicit nature of the brutality) allegedly recorded and shared online by the assailants, has sparked widespread condemnation and calls for immediate government action.
Prior to the murder of Ikpanor, intelligence reportedly circulated in WhatsApp groups, warning that suspected herdsmen terrorists were planning to infiltrate Vandeikya and Konshisha LGAs through Abonkib, Obudu.
The information alleged that the group was lobbying locals in Cross River to allow access into the two Benue communities, which had previously remained relatively safe. The emergence of such reports further heightened concerns that Ikpanor’s killing may not have been a random act of violence, but a possible link to broader security threats in the region and to cause an outburst of fierce crisis.
More disturbingly, one of the killers, was addressed as ‘aboki’, which means ‘friend’, as people from the northern part of Nigeria, especially Hausa and Fulani, are addressed by southerners.
Despite the uproar, both Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State and his Cross River counterpart, Senator Bassey Edet Otu, have remained silent on the matter more than three days after the incident.
The silence has drawn sharp criticism from members of the public, particularly in Benue State. A Makurdi-based cleric from Vandeikya, Pastor Asema Agirigi, recalled how Governor Alia swiftly responded when two Kano indigenes were killed under similar circumstances in Makurdi by ordering the arrest of the suspects, which led to tension in the area. He also noted how Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, immediately condemned the act and took steps in solidarity with the victims’ families.
In an open letter to both governors, Pastor Agirigi expressed deep disappointment and demanded urgent action to bring the killers to justice.
He described the murder as a violation of Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to life, liberty, and personal security. The pastor questioned the lack of condemnation and vowed to initiate unspecified actions if no response was made within 48 hours.
“I demand that both the Benue State Government and the Cross River State Government take immediate and concrete steps to ensure those responsible for this dastardly act are brought to book. The right to life is a fundamental human right, and Mr. Ikpanor deserved not to be denied of it,” the letter read in part.
The public continues to mount pressure on both state governments for official statements and decisive steps, as the video of the brutal act circulates online and grief intensifies in the slain driver’s hometown.
