It was a black Friday in Otukpo, Benue State as Zenith Bank , First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Stanbic IBTC Bank were attacked by gunmen at about 3:30PM on Friday.

9News Nigeria gathered that the armed robbers who came in with a Toyota Space bus and a Toyota Hilux van ran a simultaneous heist starting from Zenith Bank, and reaching to the other banks within Otukpo town and followed by sporadic shootings and multiple explosions believed to be dynamite which was used to blow up the banks’ electronic doors and granting them assess into the banking halls.

Eye witnesses revealed that many civilians who were carrying out transactions at the bank were either killed and others sustaining various degrees of injuries.

Death toll stands at about 8 civilians and 3 police officers who engaged the criminals at a very close range due to the proximity of the police station to the banks.

The robbers were said to have been chased by the men of the Nigerian Army and gunned down two of them along old Makurdi road.

Our correspondent who took a tour to the banks reports that the damage at the banks are quite enormous and would have a negative economic impact.