More than 16 people were, reportedly, killed following an attack by suspected armed herdsmen on Abande settlement in MbaikyorWard, Turan, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State.
The attack, according to some residents, was carried out on Tuesday afternoon at Abande market while traders and buyers were conducting their businesses.
The marauding herdsmen stormed the market, opened fire on the victims, looted shops, and set parts of the market on fire.
A community leader and former supervisory councillor in Kwande Local Government Area, Mr. Lawrence Akerigba, said the attackers carted away millions of naira from traders before setting the market on fire.
Akerigba said, “on Wednesday was Abande market day. People were buying and selling when the herders attacked. They looted shops, took away large sums of money and later set the market on fire.
“As of 11:55pm, some of the victims’ bodies were conveyed to Jato-Aka by personnel of the Mobile Police Force stationed in the area.”
He stated that apart from the locals that lost their lives, “a Mobile Police officer, said to be the unit commander on duty at the time of the attack, was also killed”.
Akerigba said several residents were still missing and search for them was ongoing.
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