• Women protest over kidnapping of 18 Benue residents

Suspected terrorists abducted about 45 people, mostly women and children, in Yargada and Maikogo in Bungudu Local Council Area, and other communities in Gusau and Maru local councils of Zamfara State during an attack that reportedly lasted from Sunday till the early hours of Monday.

In another development, several women from the Tyomu community in Makurdi Local Council Area of Benue State yesterday thronged the Makurdi-Gboko highway to protest against the abduction of 18 people from their community.

The women were reported to have blocked the highway, calling on the state government to secure the release of their community members, who included eight women. The victims were reportedly kidnapped on Friday along the Adoka-Ankpa Road while travelling to Kogi State for a burial.

Meanwhile, a resident of one of the villages, Yakubu Ibrahim, said the gunmen came in large numbers at about 12:50 am, shooting sporadically and starting a house-to-house search for their targeted victims.

According to Ibrahim, before the gunmen abducted their victims, they set about 10 parked vehicles belonging to the villagers ablaze.

Another eyewitness in Magama Mairake, who preferred anonymity, said that a police team quickly responded to the distress call but could not immediately confront the bandits because of their large numbers and sophisticated weapons.

In another development, another gang of suspected bandits attacked the headquarters of Bungudu Local Council Area on Sunday evening and reportedly killed an unspecified number of persons while abducting 11 others.

Confirming the incident, the Zamfara Police Command spokesman, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said the police received a report that suspected bandits invaded and abducted 11 persons, adding that the command has already deployed a search and rescue squad for the victims.

He added that the command was still investigating the actual number of the abducted persons.

Meanwhile, one of the Benue protesters, who simply identified herself as Doshima, said the abductors have called relatives of some of the victims and demanded N30 million, adding that though the residents have raised and paid N3 million, the victims have not yet been released.

When contacted, the Security Adviser to the Governor on Internal Affairs, Joseph Har, confirmed the incident but said the actual number of victims was unknown. He added that the incident had been reported to the relevant security agencies, which he said were already working on it.