gkingmusik learnt the attackers had stormed the community on Friday afternoon, abducting scores of market women and setting the market ablaze.

According to Daily Post, the attackers invaded the community from a nearby mountain, firing sporadically to cause panic before setting stalls on fire and abducting the market women.

An eyewitness who confirmed the tragic incident to the aforementioned publication said the market was already engulfed in flames by the time residents could organise a response, stressing that many traders fled in different directions to escape the attack.

The assailants were said to have whisked the victims away towards the mountainous area before security agencies arrived at the scene.

However, at the time the report was filed, the Benue State Police had yet to confirm the development.

Meanwhile, the Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has condemned the recent attack by bandits on the Abande community, Turan, in the Kwande local government area of the state, which claimed several lives and injured many.

The Governor, who confirmed that the terrorists killed several innocent people and razed houses in the community, said he has given a directive to security agencies to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

While extending condolences to those affected, the Governor described those behind the attacks as cowards.

gkingmusik recalls that the Benue State command of the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the killing of a mobile police officer and four civilians during an attack by suspected armed bandits on Abande community in Kwande Local Government Area of the state.

The incident was confirmed in a statement issued on Wednesday in Makurdi by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Edet Udeme.