By Palang Paul
In a brutal escalation of violence plaguing Nigeria’s Middle Belt, armed herders launched a coordinated attack on the Anwase Market in Mbaikyor, Benue State, on Friday 6th February 2026, killing at least 13 persons and abducting an unspecified number of traders.
The assault, marked by indiscriminate gunfire and arson, is the second such massacre in the same local government area within 72 hours, laying bare the collapse of security and a grim pattern of impunity.
According to local officials and eyewitnesses, the gunmen descended from a nearby mountain, spraying bullets into the crowded market. As panicked civilians fled, the assailants set stalls ablaze and forcibly led away several market women towards the mountainous terrain. The attack left a trail of destruction, traumatized communities, and families desperately searching for missing loved ones.
This latest violence follows a near-identical attack on the Abande community market on Tuesday, where at least 16 people, including a mobile police commander, were killed. In that incident, attackers also looted millions of Naira before burning the market. These back-to-back atrocities in Kwande Local Government Area point not to isolated incidents, but to a sustained and unchecked campaign of violence targeting civilian populations and economic hubs.
A Pattern of Violence and a Vacuum of Authority
The recurring market attacks underscore a devastating strategic shift by armed groups: the targeting of soft, communal spaces to maximize terror, economic damage, and displacement. Local leaders, like former supervisory councillor Lawrence Akerigba, lament that the assaults have forced widespread flight, spreading fear across Turan and neighboring communities.
The silence from federal security forces has become a deafening part of the crisis. As of Friday evening, the Benue State Police Command had yet to officially confirm the Anwase Market attack, with efforts to reach spokespersons proving futile. This communication vacuum mirrors a broader operational paralysis, raising urgent questions about the effectiveness of security strategies in the region.
A Nation’s Unraveling Frontier
The carnage in Benue is a microcosm of the multifront security crisis choking Nigeria. While national attention often focuses on the Islamist insurgency in the Northeast and rampant kidnappings in the Northwest, the Coordinated and deliberate cleansing violence in the Middle Belt has proven equally deadly and destabilizing. It is a complex conflict fueled by Fulani Militias in other to land grabbed steal natural resources, and eliminate Christians.
However, the consistent failure of the state to protect its citizens, apprehend perpetrators, and prevent recurring attacks suggests a deeper malady of governance and prioritization. Each assault deepens communal distrust, fuels cycles of revenge, and creates a permanent class of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
As local officials like Kwande Chairman Vitalis Neji scramble with security agencies to “restore calm,” residents are left with a stark reality: markets—the lifelines of their local economy and social fabric—have become killing fields. The repeated brazenness of the attacks signals to communities that they are on their own, eroding the very social contract between the Nigerian state and its people. Until there is a decisive, intelligence-driven, and politically committed response from the highest levels of government, the markets of Benue, and the nation at large, will remain under siege.
Palang Paul reports on security and conflicts for The Nigeria Times.
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