By Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu

KANO, Nigeria (AA): Eight people were beheaded by armed bandits at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Benue State in northcentral Nigeria, officials said Friday.

“Suspected bandits attacked Abagana opposite the IDP camp. So far, eight corpses, including women and children, have been recovered, and eight others seriously injured were evacuated to the hospital for treatment. Some of the bodies were beheaded and the heads taken away,” Special Adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom on security matters, Paul Hemba, said in a statement.

He said rescue operations are underway and a search for survivors is ongoing.

Hemba said the attack took place around midnight Nigerian time and women and children were among those killed. The injured have been taken to the hospital.

The attack is the second in two years on the camp where hundreds have been living since January 2018.

Armed bandits later that year attacked and killed 73 people in the Guma and Logo local government areas in the state.

[Map of Nigeria from CIA Factbook/Public Domain]