Governor Mourns as 22 Killed in Fresh Plateau Attack

No fewer than 22 persons have been killed, while many others were reportedly injured in fresh attacks in the villages of Barikin Ladi and Mangu town of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Spokesperson of the state police command, Alabo Alfred, who confirmed the latest killings, also confirmed that two persons had been killed in Mangu town.

While the killing in Mangu occurred on Monday evening, the second happened in the night,when gunmen stormed the villages of Kak, Ranyam, Nging, Lohala and Buka of Barikin Ladi LGA, and killed about 20 residents.

This, however, followed the death of 13 persons in the Rawuru community of Barikin Ladi.

“In Barikin Ladi, we got reports that about 15 people lost their lives yesterday and today, another five have been buried which makes the total number to be 20. In Mangu, two people were killed while one other was injured. What happened in Mangu was a problem among the citizens of the area.

“You know the Plateau issue very well. It was almost about to be painted to religious or ethnic. But our men came into play and controlled the situation and restored normalcy in the area.

“The command is saddened with this information. We don’t want more deaths in Plateau. We are advising people to get the phone numbers of our DPOs and feed them with information around them. Let us do well to inform the police. We want to live in peace,” he added.

Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang of the state, in a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere, expressed sadness over the attacks.

The governor, while sympathising with the victims and their families, urged the security agencies to diligently execute their constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property in the state in order to put a stop to the wanton spilling of blood and burning of property.

He also appealed to them to remain neutral and refrain from meddling in local politics that is outside their purview.

“Governor Mutfwang reiterated the commitment of his administration to work with the existing security apparatus at the federal level, using multifaceted approaches to secure innocent communities, who have been under invasion by the bandits.

“He saluted the gallantry of some of the officers and men of various security agencies, who have made sufficient sacrifices in curbing the spate of attacks and encouraged them to put in more effort to halt the ugly trend.

“While commiserating with the families of the deceased, Governor Mutfwang reassured Plateau citizens of his commitment to addressing their plights, particularly the issues of insecurity so as to bequeath the requisite development and progress the state is yearning for,”the statement stated.

Last week, suspected gunmen killed a Reverend Father, Nichodemus Kim, of the Church of Christ in Nation (COCIN) and 20 others in Riyom and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas of the state.

The pastor was killed in the Gana-Ropp community of Barkin Ladi, while others were killed in Rim, Jol, and Kwi communities of Riyom.