Former Secretary to the Benue State Government, Prof. David Salifu, has died after sustaining gunshot wounds during an attack by suspected armed men along the Wukari–Joota Road in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State.
The incident occurred on the border route linking Benue and Taraba states as the former government official was travelling to Makurdi to attend the burial of his uncle.
Salifu, a Professor of Public Administration and former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Federal University Wukari, was reportedly attacked while returning from the university.
He suffered severe gunshot injuries and was first taken to a hospital in Wukari, where medical personnel successfully removed bullets lodged in his stomach.
Following the initial surgery, he was referred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Makurdi, for advanced treatment but eventually died around midnight on Thursday.
Confirming the incident, a former aide to the deceased, Mr. Ben Ekah, said Prof. Salifu and his driver were travelling from the Federal University Wukari when they were ambushed by armed attackers.
Ekah explained that, based on the driver’s account, the gunmen intercepted their vehicle, forced the former SSG out and attempted to abduct him.
According to him, Salifu repeatedly questioned the attackers about their intentions before the situation turned violent.
“The driver said they were coming from the Federal University Wukari where Prof. Salifu lectures when they were waylaid along the Wukari–Joota Road, a border route between Taraba and Benue states.
“The attackers were trying to take him away, and he kept asking them what they wanted. As they continued dragging him, one of them suddenly pulled out a gun and shot him at close range in the stomach.
“They abandoned him after the shooting, leaving him in a pool of blood. His driver, however, managed to take him back to Wukari, where surgeons successfully removed the bullets from his stomach.
“On Thursday, he was referred to the Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi for further treatment, but sadly he passed away around midnight,” Ekah said.
He described the late academic as a humble, calm and peace-loving individual whose death has left many colleagues, friends and associates in shock.
Ekah disclosed that Prof. Salifu had excused himself from a Senate meeting at the Federal University Wukari to travel home for his uncle’s burial before the fatal attack occurred.
“He was a lecturer and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Federal University Wukari. We learnt that the university management was holding a Senate meeting, but he excused himself to travel home for his uncle’s burial. It is heartbreaking because everyone knew him as a peaceful man,” he added.
Prof. Salifu served as Secretary to the Benue State Government during the administration of former Governor Gabriel Suswam between January 2011 and May 2015.
As of the time this report was filed, the Benue State Police Command had not issued an official statement on the incident.
Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, for comments were unsuccessful.
