A tragedy struck One Man Village, Nasarawa State, on Tuesday night as gunmen killed four residents at Wisdom Supermarket.

Though One Man Village is in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, it is in close proximity to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

Sources told FIJ that a group of armed men arrived in the village in a car around 9:00 pm and opened fire on buyers.

The killing happened just moments after a source, simply identified as Peter, left the supermarket on Tuesday.

READ ALSO: Bombings, Kidnapping, Killings… How Nigeria’s Security Fared in 2023

“I actually was at the supermarket yesterday, but I left before the incident happened. The name of the supermarket is Wisdom Supermarket. It used to be called Abdullahi Supermarket. It was one Hausa man who sold it to the current owner. People still refer to it by its more famous name, which is Abdullahi Supermarket,” Peter told FIJ.

“I left the place just about 8:00 in the evening yesterday, and the incident happened around 9:00 pm. Some people came with guns. They were in a car, which they parked outside. They came out with guns, about five of them. They started shooting at people. They killed about four people there, with one shot in the head. Then they made away with money in a very big bag. That’s what I know.

“I don’t know if any arrest has been made so far. But I passed through the place this (Wednesday) morning. The police came there for investigation. The supermarket was shut when I passed there.”

Peter, a longtime resident of One Man Village, told FIJ that the killing did not disrupt the daily activities of residents.

“Residents are going about their businesses normally. But then, this is the first time something of this nature is happening in One Man Village. I have been living here for years, and this was the first time I experienced this kind of incident.

“About the victims, it’s hard to know their identities. People were running. And besides, it was at night.”

READ ALSO: Kubwa, Aso Rock’s ‘Backyard’, Has Become Kidnapper’s Playground. Here’s How Residents Live

Another resident, who does not want to be named, told FIJ that the gunmen “chased an employee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the supermarket”.

This, the source revealed, was because the gunmen wanted to abduct the CBN worker.

“Kidnappers chased one CBN guy to the supermarket last night. They wanted to abduct him, but instead, they killed him with three people in the supermarket.”

When FIJ contacted Ramhan Nansel, the state’s police spokesperson, he confirmed that four people died in the incident.

“At 8:45 pm yesterday, we got information that four gunmen opened fire on customers at Wisdom Supermarket. Upon hearing the information, the commissioner of police deployed the divisional police officer (DPO) of the area to the scene.

“When they got there, they met people who were dead. They took them to Maraba Medical Centre, where they were declared dead. Their bodies have been deposited in the morgue. We have started conducting investigation into who the perpetrators are.”

Abimbola Abatta is a reporter with FIJ writing reports in partnership with Report for the World which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.