Fresh clashes have erupted in different parts of Plateau State between Fulani herdsmen and local villagers, with 22 people killed as gunmen invaded two villages in Bokkos Local Government Area of the state.
The gunmen, alleged to be mercenaries from Niger Republic and Chad, were using sophisticated weapons and attacked Matol and Mangol villages where they killed their victims, including two anti-riot policemen attached to the Special Task Force, STF maintaining security in the state.
It was learnt that the violence spread in the morning as locals descended on Fulani settlements around them, paralyzing business activities in the area as many were afraid of which area would be the next.
However, six of the attackers were also killed by security forces who rushed to the villages following an alert.
A spokesman for the STF, Lt. Navy Akpa confirmed the attack, the loss of the two policemen and the killing of six of the attackers. However, he could not give the casualty figure as it was ‘being verified’, although he added that arrests had been made.
The Chairman of Bokkos Local Government Area, Mr Zakka Akos confirmed that 18 bodies were recovered at the scene of the attack, corroborating the story of Dr Kunang Temang of Cottage Hospital, Bokkos who also said 18 persons were killed in the attack, including a 70-year old woman known as Kaka Kiwo.
A victim of the attack, one Majau Yohanna, said from his hospital bed at the Bingham University Teach Hospital, Jos, “The attackers invaded the village from 7pm not long after we returned from the farms and were resting in our homes. They came in large numbers and had sophisticated weapons.”
In a reaction to the killings, the Plateau State Government through the Commissioner for Information and Communication Mr. Yiljap Abraham said: ”This is another unsettling event in the state with the accompanying implication of creating disaffection among communities that had long lived together.
”Let it be known that the Plateau State Government is determined to use every legal and constitutional means to ensure the maintenance of law and order in every part of the state.
”This, however, calls for high level vigilance by all communities and people of goodwill to thwart the plans of restless people and groups who do not wish to see the people of the State at peace with themselves.”