Gunmen  suspected  to  be  kidnappers  have  abducted  seven  traders  who  had  just  left  Ugya  Village  Market  in  the  Toto  Local  Government   Area  of  Nasarawa  State.

A driver who escaped the attack, Ibrahim Saidu, said the incident happened on Tuesday evening.

He said the kidnappers first opened fire on his car, deflating one of the tyres in the process.

However, he said he managed to escape.

Saidu told Daily Trust that the vehicle behind him, which was also conveying traders from Ugya Village Market back to Toto town, was attacked.

He said the driver of the Volkswagen Golf, who was conveying the traders, suddenly lost control and veered into the bush, following which he said the kidnappers whisked them away farther into the bush at gunpoint.

“They first targeted my vehicle while I was negotiating a sharp bend as one of the gunmen shot at my back tyres, but I still managed to escape. But the other vehicle behind me was not lucky, as they shot the four tyres, which forced him to stop and they whisked away all the passengers on board, ” he said.

The spokesman for the state police command, Rahman Nansel, said he was not aware of the kidnap incident.