Gunmen kill 12 people in Plateau – Police

The Plateau State Police Command has said gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen, on Thursday, killed 12 persons and injured one at Kulben village of Kombun District of Mangu Local Government Area.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, Terna Tyopev, made this disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos.

Mr Tyopev, a deputy superintendent of police, said the incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday.

“In the early hours of today, we received a distress call that gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen attacked Kulben community of Kombun District of Mangu.

“As a result, 12 persons lost their lives and one severely injured.

“Immediately we received the information, the commissioner in charge of the command, Mr Isaac Akinmoyede, directed the DCP in charge of Operations, Mr Aliyu Tafida to mobilise to the scene.

“As I speak, our team of detectives and other officers are in the scene of the crime to prevent further attacks,” he said.

Mr Typopev said the injured are currently receiving treatment at Mangu General Hospital.

He called on residents of the community to remain calm and be law abiding, adding that the police and other security agencies would do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to book.

“No arrest is yet to be made, but we are doing everything possible to ensure the criminals are arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law,” he assured.

He called on the public to provide the police with useful information that would enable them track down the perpetrators.

Unknown armed assailants “suspected to be herdsmen” attacked the residents of Kulben village in Plateau state on Wednesday night, the regional police said in a statement. 

The raid left 12 dead and one person seriously wounded, the authorities said. Local people said 19 people had died. 

Plateau state is part of Nigeria’s so-called middle-belt that divides the mainly-Muslim north from the predominantly Christian south.

Deadly clashes between nomadic Fulani herders and farmers over land, grazing and water have plagued the area for years.

Aid group Mercy Corps said in May last year that violence between farmers and pastoralists in Nigeria had “contributed to more than 7,000 deaths in the past five years.”

Attacks in remote areas often go unreported but the authorities in Plateau state insist the bloodshed has decreased following reconciliation efforts between the communities.