By Ade Oyeyemi
The Chairman of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Fiidi Council Ward in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State, Igbu Terhemen, has reportedly died after he was allegedly attacked and abandoned in a bush near his residence.
Terhemen was said to have been discovered unconscious at about 2am on Wednesday in a bush close to the NNPC Depot along the Makurdi-Otukpo Road, on the outskirts of Makurdi.
A friend of the deceased, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Terhemen left home on Tuesday evening to watch a local football match in the Kanshio area.
The source said concerns grew after he failed to return home, prompting relatives and friends to launch a search for him.
According to the friend, Terhemen was eventually found unconscious in a bush near his residence but died before he could be taken for medical treatment.
The source further alleged that the deceased’s phone was still with him when he was found and that a needle-like mark was noticed on his body.
The friend suggested that the mark could indicate that an unknown substance had been administered to Terhemen before he was abandoned, but the claim has not been independently established.
The Benue State chapter of the NDC has condemned the death and called for an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
In a statement issued by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Agile Bem, the NDC alleged that Terhemen was tied with ropes, injected with a substance suspected to be poisonous and abandoned near his residence.
The party said he was found in an almost unconscious condition and could neither speak nor communicate before he eventually died.
Reacting to the incident, the NDC State Chairman, Ohini Ojegbe, described the alleged killing as a “broad-daylight evil.”
Ojegbe urged security agencies to urgently investigate the incident, identify those responsible and bring them to justice.
The party described the deceased as a dedicated member who made significant contributions to the growth of the NDC in Benue State.
It said his death was a major loss to the party, particularly at a time when his services and commitment were needed.
However, the spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, DSP Peter Aondongu, said the command had not received any report concerning the alleged incident.
The circumstances surrounding Terhemen’s death therefore remained unclear as of the time of filing the report.
