Igbu Job Terhemen is dead. He chaired the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Fiidi Council Ward, Makurdi Local Government Area, Benue State. Unknown assailants attacked him at about 2:00 am on Wednesday. They tied him with ropes. They injected him with a substance suspected to be poisonous. They abandoned him near his residence around the NNPC depot along Makurdi-Otukpo Road. He was found in an almost unconscious state. He could not speak or communicate. He died before he could get medical attention.
Political violence in Benue State is not new. In 2023, thugs disrupted campaigns in Guma and Logo local government areas. In 2024, a Labour Party chieftain was killed in Otukpo. In 2025, the state recorded multiple attacks on opposition figures. The pattern reflects weak security and political desperation. The 2027 elections are approaching. Violence is intensifying.
A friend of the deceased told journalists in Makurdi that Terhemen left his residence on Tuesday evening to watch a local football match in the Kanshio axis. He did not return home. “It was while people were looking around for him that he was discovered around 2am Wednesday in a bush near his residence unconscious,” the friend said. “Unfortunately, he died before he could get medical attention.”
Strangely, his attackers did not take his phone. It was found on him when he was taken to the morgue. There was a needle-like injury on his body. That indicated he could have been injected with a substance.
The state chairman of the NDC, Ohini Ojegbe, described the killing as a “broad-daylight evil.” He called on security agencies to urgently investigate. He urged them to arrest those responsible and bring them to justice. The party, in a statement by its State Publicity Secretary, Agile Bem, described Terhemen as a committed and dedicated member. His contributions to the growth of the NDC would be greatly missed.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Peter Aondongu, said the command was yet to receive a report on the incident.
Winners: The attackers, who face no immediate arrest. Political actors who benefit from a climate of fear. Losers: Terhemen, who lost his life. His family. The NDC, which loses a ward chairman. The Fiidi community. Benue State’s fragile peace.
Bottom Line: A ward chairman was tied up, injected with poison and dumped in a bush. His killers did not take his phone. They wanted him dead, not robbed. The police have not received a report. The 2027 election cycle has its first political martyr in Benue.