Plateau: 29 Killed In Mid-night Attack
BY CHAMBERLAIN ODEY, JOS – Spate of mid-night attacks and brutal murder of innocent citizens in Plateau State continued last Sunday night as 29 persons were killed in cold blood at a primary school in Bassa Local Government Area of the state.
The attack was carried out in Nkiedoghwo village of Bassa LGA as the villagers were taking refuge in a primary school following apprehension over continued attacks, irrespective of the twelve-hour curfew slammed on the area from 6pm to 6am.
The attack, believed to have been carried out by Fulani mercenaries, is said to have invaded the area from Bassa hills and overpowered the Soldiers of the special military task force guarding women and children at the primary school, forcing the security personnel to flee and abandon the villagers to their fate.
The National President of Irigwe Development Association of the traumatized Irigwue chiefdom of Bassa Local government, Hon Sunday Abdul, a former member of the Plateau State House of Assembly, said apart from the 27 that were massacred over night, another two (2) dead bodies were recovered Monday afternoon and taken to hospital.
According to him, the unlucky villagers were asked by the military personnel on duty to take refuge in a primary school, and they complied readily, but regretted that when the Fulani mercenaries arrived from the hills in the night, the soldiers who were guarding the refugees were said to have been overwhelmed by the might of the armed Fulani gunmen and they ”took to their heels leaving the people, women and children to be slaughtered by the rampaging gunmen”.
He alleged that within the last two weeks, his people kept on recording deaths of their loved ones on a daily basis without anybody coming to their rescue .
Hon Abdul described the assault on his people as barbaric, inhuman, and unacceptable, lamenting that they were being treated this way because of their minority status in the society .
”We were told by the soldiers that they know where the attackers were coming from on the mountains, but no soldiers dared to go after the armed men, and instead ransacked the houses of his people to collect any thing that they could have used to defend themselves”.
He said despite the dusk to dawn curfew imposed by the state government on the Irigwe Chiefdom area, the armed men still moved in unchallenged to kill his people on a daily basis.
Abdul expressed sadness that had it been his people that were killing the Fulanis in the restive local government area, the Federal Government could have reacted immediately.
In another development, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria {CAN), North, Rev Yakubu Pam has condemned the killings in various parts of Plateau state.
The Northern Christian leader, in a statement issued in Jos on Monday, called for calm and urged the state government to bring those killing innocent people on the Plateau to justice, saying nobody is above the law.
Pam urged the warring group to lay down their arms and embrace dialogue for the sake of peace in the state, adding that Plateau still remains a miniature Nigeria where people from all parts of the country have come to stay because of the people’s peaceful nature.
As at the time of filing in this report, there was tension in some parts of the state, especially local government areas in Northern senatorial district where the seat of Government is located.
When contacted, there was no word from Government House, as our correspondent was told the State security meeting was taking place with Governor Simon Lalong presiding.
