By Moses Uzer
Unknown gunmen Tuesday stormed Tor-Donga market in Utange council ward of Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State and killed five persons in two separate attacks, injuring several others.
The first attack which occurred at about 9:30 a.m claimed four lives while the second one took place at about 2:20 p.m even as one person was killed with several others sustaining serious injuries of various degrees.
The Security Officer of Katsina-Ala Local Government, Mr Fidelis Shagbaor when contacted named those killed in the first attack to include: Mr Terungwa Diga, Mr Ugba Jebu, Mr Aondohemba Agbo and one other person popularly known as Yellow.
According to the local government’s chief security officer, the attackers who dressed in military uniforms came on motocycles known as Bajaj and parked them nearby before descending fiercely on innocent people in the market.
The Voice learnt that the militants completed their operation before the arrival of military personnel who pursued them to no avail.
While marketers and inhabitants of Tor-Donga settlement were mourning, sympathising and discussing the aftermath of the first attack, the gunmen suddenly re-appeared unexpectedly and killed one person while others escaped with injuries and bullet wounds.
In less than two months, about 32 persons have been gruesomely murdered by unknown gunmen in Sankera axis of the state which comprises of Ukum, Katsina-Ala and Logo local government areas; including the immediate elder brother to Sen. Gabriel Suswam, Chief Terkura Suswam while properties worth millions of naira have also been destroyed.
Killings, kidnapping and other criminal activities have continued to swing in Sankera despite government’s several efforts to restore peace in the area.
