Former Secretary to the Benue State Government (SSG), Prof. David Salifu, has died after sustaining gunshot wounds during an attack by suspected bandits along the notorious Wukari–Zaki Biam Road linking Taraba and Benue states.
Prof. Salifu reportedly passed away in the early hours of Friday at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi, where doctors had battled unsuccessfully to save his life following the attack.
The late academic and administrator served as SSG during the administration of former Governor Gabriel Suswam and was, until his death, a lecturer at the Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State.
Sources familiar with the incident said Salifu was travelling from Wukari to Makurdi on Thursday morning when armed hoodlums intercepted his vehicle on the outskirts of Wukari.
The attackers allegedly forced his vehicle to a halt and ordered him to disembark and board a motorcycle, a tactic commonly employed by kidnappers operating along major highways in the region.
However, the former Benue government official reportedly resisted the directive and challenged the armed men, who responded by opening fire on him.
He was immediately rushed to a hospital in Wukari for emergency treatment before being transferred to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi for specialist care. Despite frantic efforts by medical personnel, he later succumbed to his injuries.
Confirming the tragedy on Friday, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for Benue South Senatorial District and a close associate of the deceased, Chief David Olofu, described Salifu as a trusted ally and invaluable member of his political family.
“He was a member of my campaign council and a confidant,” Olofu said.
“I learnt that he left Wukari for Benue when he encountered hoodlums on the outskirts of Wukari. They stopped his vehicle, asked him to come down, and thereafter shot him.”
According to Olofu, the injured professor was first taken to a teaching hospital in Wukari before arrangements were made to move him to Makurdi for advanced medical attention.
He disclosed that the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Wukari, approved the deployment of an ambulance and medical personnel to facilitate the evacuation process.
“However, he was eventually taken to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, where he died in the early hours of Friday,” Olofu added.
The killing has once again exposed the growing insecurity along the Wukari–Zaki Biam corridor, a route that has repeatedly witnessed incidents of kidnapping, armed robbery and violent attacks despite sustained calls for stronger security measures.
For many residents and travellers, the highway has become a symbol of the worsening security crisis confronting communities across parts of the North-Central region, where criminal gangs continue to operate with alarming audacity.