Northern senators, group condemn killings
The number of lives lost in last Thursday’s gruesome attack by gunmen across communities in Plateau State has risen to 22, with fresh accounts painting a chilling picture of the violence.
In Tangur, a quiet village in Bokkos Local Council Area, ten residents were reportedly killed, bringing the previous death toll to a confirmed 22 over the weekend.
Reports said six people were killed in the Manja and Chakfem communities in Mangu LGA, which share a boundary with Mushere in Bokkos. In Kwall District of Bassa LGA, gunmen ambushed travellers along Kperie Road, killing two on the spot and leaving one critically injured.
Many of the victims were women and children caught off guard by the attackers. Chairman of the Community Peace Observers in Bokkos, Mr Kefas Mallai, confirmed the incident during a press briefing in Jos.
“The attack occurred around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday night. People were going about their business peacefully when, suddenly, gunmen appeared and started shooting. “
“The men tried to respond but couldn’t defend themselves. Some had to hide, but the women and children, being more vulnerable, were mostly the ones killed; 13 bodies were found this morning. They didn’t burn any houses; they were just shooting. Anyone vulnerable they came across was targeted,” Mallai said.
Also speaking, the Executive Chairman of Bokkos Local Council Area, Amalau Samuel Amalau, confirmed the killings, describing the attack as brutal and senseless.
He said some of the injured were receiving medical attention in various hospitals and that although security agencies were alerted during the incident, the assailants had already vanished by the time they arrived.
MEANWHILE, the Northern Senators Forum has strongly condemned the gruesome killings, describing the attack as a “barbaric and cowardly act” that threatens the unity of Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Chairman of the forum, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua, extended the forum’s condolences to the victims’ families over the killings.
“On behalf of the forum, I extend our deepest condolences to the government and people of Kaduna State, particularly the bereaved families affected by this heinous attack,” Yar’Adua said.
ALSO, the Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC), Nigeria, has condemned the killings. In a statement yesterday signed by its Executive Chairman, Disu Kamor, MPAC described the attack as “horrific and senseless,” revealing that a bus conveying 28 Muslim passengers mostly of Hausa ethnic background was ambushed by suspected youths from the community.
Eight passengers were reportedly killed, six sustained injuries and four remain missing. One of the injured is said to be in critical condition. The organisation decried the attack as a gross violation of the victims’ fundamental rights, lamenting the rise in what it termed “ethnic profiling and targeted violence” against Muslims in parts of Nigeria.
