Gunmen attack another community in Plateau, kill eight

Eight people have been confirmed killed by gunmen suspected to be Fulani militia who invaded the Rawuru community in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the Plateau State on Friday night.

The President of Global Society for Middle Belt Heritage, Jerry Datim, who is also a leader in the affected community, who confirmed the incident on Saturday, said the fully armed assailants invaded the community while the people had retired for the night and shot sporadically.

In a statement on behalf of the group, Datim accused the Special Taskforce of the Nigerian Army in charge of maintaining security in the state of not doing enough to secure the lives of the people.

Datim described the attacks as one too many and called for an investigation into the activities of the personnel of the Taskforce deployed to maintain peace in Plateau communities.

A youth leader in the community, Solomon Dalyop, who also confirmed the killings, told journalists that they made distress calls to security operatives during the attack but help did not come throughout the duration of the attack which lasted for several hours.

Read also: Over 30 people killed as gunmen attack another village in Plateau

“We have confirmed that eight persons were killed during the attack last night in Rawuru community in Barkin LGA,” he said.

“What we don’t understand is that before the attack took place, some soldiers came to the village in the afternoon. We also saw them in the night. During the attack which lasted for several hours, we made distress calls to them but they did not respond.

“And yet, the villagers were attacked leading to the killing of the victims who were in their homes.

“How come the assailants will carry out the attacks successfully without being apprehended by the soldiers and the security agents who are also within the community?”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now