Former Benue State Secretary to the Government, Professor David Salifu, has died after suffering gunshot wounds during an attack by suspected bandits along the Wukari-Zakibiam Road.
Salifu reportedly passed away in the early hours of Friday while receiving treatment at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi.
The former SSG, who served under ex-Governor Gabriel Suswam and was a lecturer at the Federal University, Wukari, was said to be travelling from Wukari in Taraba State to Makurdi on Thursday when armed men intercepted his vehicle on the outskirts of Wukari.
According to eyewitnesses, the attackers, believed to be kidnappers, stopped his vehicle and ordered him to get down and board a motorcycle. He was allegedly shot after confronting them.
Confirming the incident, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Benue South Senatorial candidate and a close associate of the deceased, Chief David Olofu, said Salifu succumbed to his injuries despite efforts to save his life.
“He was a member of my campaign council and a confidant. 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,” Olofu said.
He explained that Salifu was first taken to a hospital in Wukari before being transferred to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital with the support of the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Wukari, who provided an ambulance and a medical team for the evacuation.
“However, he was eventually taken to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, where he died in the early hours of Friday,” Olofu added.
