Three people were feared dead after a violent clash between youths from Obi and Otukpo Local Government Areas in Benue State. According to a source from Otukpo, youths from Ijegwu in Obi LGA engaged in a free‑for‑all with their counterparts in Otukpo on Monday over a power‑supply disruption caused by fallen poles during windstorms.
The source explained that the Ijegwu youths suspected sabotage of the high‑tension cable that supplies electricity to both LGAs. When they traced the problem to a switch located in the Ijegwu community, they found it had been disconnected. This discovery sparked a confrontation with Otukpo youths. During the initial encounter, one person was injured, and a subsequent clash resulted in two additional deaths.
When contacted, Olaniyi Ogunmakinya, Regional Manager of Jos Electricity Distribution in Otukpo, said he was unaware of any casualties but confirmed that a clash had occurred. He explained that the company uses isolators to segment the network when problems arise, allowing electricity to continue flowing to unaffected areas while repairs are carried out. “We isolated the section toward the end of Otukpo LGA linking Obi,” he said. “When heavy rain damaged our lines a few days ago, we had to isolate the affected areas to work on them. People on the Obi side are often unhappy with this isolation; they would rather have a total power cut than a partial one.”
According to Ogunmakinya, two days earlier some individuals attempted to sabotage the isolation point. The youths from the community that would be affected resisted the attempt, leading to the conflict. He could not confirm whether the youths killed each other, but he noted that the company’s facilities were not destroyed; the incident involved an attempted sabotage of the isolator that was thwarted by Otukpo youths.
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