Hundreds of youths from Sarkin Noma village in Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State on Friday blocked the Lafia-Makurdi highway to protest persistent attacks and kidnappings by gunmen in their community.

A youth leader in the area, Ogu Iliya, told journalists that the protest was aimed at drawing the attention of authorities to their plight and demanding urgent intervention.

He explained that about 50 armed men invaded the community around midnight, shooting sporadically before abducting an elderly resident, Mathew Anzaku.

According to him, youths mobilised to repel the attackers, but two of them simply identified as Adgizi and Godiya, were shot dead during the encounter.

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Iliya, who lamented that the latest incident was the 12th attack on the community in recent times, said residents had been living in constant fear and helplessness.

"Any resident who sells farm produce and returns from the market at night is at risk," he said. "These gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen, kidnap people and demand ransom before releasing them. It has become unbearable. The elderly man taken last night is still missing, and we don't know his condition."

The angry youths reportedly carried the corpses of the two slain victims to the highway, blocking the busy route and halting vehicular movement for hours.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, SP Ramhan Nansel, said security operatives led by the Commissioner of Police, Shettima Mohammed Jauro, had been deployed to the area to restore normalcy.