AMILOADED MEDIA HUB NEWS UPDATE
Suspected pastoralists on a deadly rampage across two local government areas of Plateau have killed no fewer than 112 residents and injured 47 others.
According to gazette, security sources and local chiefs said the attackers executed a string of coordinated attacks on at least 12 communities spanning Barkin Ladi and Bokkos council areas on Christmas Eve.
“The attack started on Saturday evening when the herdsmen made separate entries and started butchering people and continued until midnight on Sunday,” a security source said under anonymity to wait for an official police statement. “We don’t know how they obtained the equipment they used but no group should have this capacity.”
Some of the villages affected include Ruku, Hurum, Darwat, Mai Yanga Sabo in Gashi and Ropp districts of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area.
Solomon Musa, president of Berom Youth Moulders-Association, said at least 60 bodies were recovered in Bokkos, about 52 kilometres southeast of Jos, as of Monday afternoon, while 26 bodies were found in Ropp and Gashi. A police inspector said the combined fatalities had surpassed 112 residents, mainly women and children.
“They evacuated 47 people with different injuries to hospitals and clinics,” a local chief, Joseph Gwamzhi, said. “In some communities, the attacks lasted more than five hours.”
Witnesses further said the security forces were overwhelmed during the attacks, rendering them incapable of confronting the assailants, some of whom were reportedly clad in military fatigues.
Reacting to the incident on Tuesday, the Plateau State Police Command disclosed that 86 persons were killed while 221 houses were set ablaze during the Christmas Eve attacks by gunmen in Plateau State.
The State Commissioner of Police, Okoro Alawari, disclosed this on Tuesday in a statement signed by the command’s spokesman, Alfred Alabo.
According to him, the attacks which were carried out by the assailants in 15 communities of Bokkos and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas of the state also left eight vehicles burnt in the process.
The statement read, “The Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, CP Okoro Alawari expresses grief over the deadly attacks that took place in some remote villages of Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi Local Government Areas of Plateau State carried out by some yet-to-identified assailants on the December 24, 2023 at odd hours of the night, and sympathises with the families of those who lost their loved ones in the gruesome attack.
“On December 24, 2023, at 2200hrs, the following 12 villages in Bokkos LGA were attacked; Ndun, Ngyong, Murfet, Makundary, Tamiso, Chiang, Tahore, Gawarba, Dares, Meyenga, Darwat and Butura Kampani.
“Similarly, on December 24, 2023, at about 2245hrs, three villages in Barkin-Ladi LGA namely; NTV, Hurum and Darawat were also attacked.”
The statement said to prevent further carnage, the Commissioner of Police had directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations to relocate to Bokkos LGA and also deployed a team of operational forces to the troubled areas to prevent further attacks and assess the level of damages in the affected areas.
“Findings from the assessment of the ugly incidents in Bokkos LGA revealed that the total number of villages attacked is 12; 221 houses were set ablaze, 27 motorcycles were burnt, eight motor vehicles were burnt down and over 79 persons were killed while 17 deaths were recorded in Barkin-ladi LGA.
“Investigation and monitoring of the incidents are still on. Further development will be communicated soon,” the statement added
The attack could mark the first test for Governor Caleb Muftwang, who assumed office in May on the back of a vow to contain the decades-long crisis between nomadic herders and villages over shrinking natural resources in the region.
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