The past 48 hours has been bloody in the
Northern party of Nigeria.
No fewer than 82 people were killed in three
attacks on Monday and yesterday in Plateau,
Kaduna and Yobe states.
Twenty people, including a policeman, were killed
by bandits in Yobe State; 32 were killed by
gunmen in Plateau and 30 in Kaduna.
On Monday night, gunmen killed 18 traders in a
market in Yobe State.
A lecturer with the College of Agriculture, Gujba,
who was returning from Ashaka, Gombe State,
was shot dead by fleeing gunmen at Buni Gari.
Commissioner of Police Sanusi Rufai said the 18
traders were killed by armed bandits in two
villages in Gulani Local Government Area.
The Yobe police chief said: “The traders were
ambushed by the bandits while travelling back
from Ngalda local market, a border town with
Gombe State.
“The bandits attacked and killed 18 traders, 10
from Kukuwa and eight from Dokshi village. They
took away their money, which ran into millions of
naira.”
The bandits, Rufai said, were masked and
dressed in military uniform.
Rufai explained that the attackers also ran into a
quarry plant and attacked policemen attached to
the plant, killing one policeman.
He said no arrest had been made.
He added: “Joint Task Force (JTF) and police are
now combing the bush and security agents across
the state are on the red alert.”
The commissioner expressed regret that “bandits
are now parading themselves as Boko Haram to
wreak havoc on innocent people and inject fears
in them.”
The Yobe State Council of Chiefs condemned the
attack.
In a communique issued at the end of its seventh
Council meeting held in Damaturu, the monarchs
praised security agents for restoring peace in the
state, but regretted the Monday night attack.
The Emir of Fika, Mohammad Abali IBN Idrissa
Mohamadu, urged the people to cooperate with
security agencies in the fight against terror.
No fewer than 30 people were reportedly killed
and three villages completely razed by gunmen
suspected to be Fulani militia in Zangan, Zandyen
and Azing villages in Kaura Local Government
Area of Kaduna State.
But the police have refused to comment on the
killings. Commissioner of Police Olufemi Adenaike
told reporters to wait till today.
The police boss said: “Please, wait till tomorrow.
I will address a news conference tomorrow to give
you details; otherwise, you will be writing a half
story. The information is coming in bits.”
A resident of the area, Bulus Gwaza, told
reporters on the telephone that the gunmen came
in a large number and shot indiscriminately.
He said: “Right now, we have buried over 30
bodies and we are still looking for more in the
three villages. Not a single house is standing now
as I am speaking to you. They killed one
Policeman and one soldier. In fact the soldiers
ran because of the guns the attackers had and
their large number. No one is in these villages,
except some of us looking for bodies to bury.
Please, tell government to come to our aid.”
Details of the attack were sketchy yesterday. It
was gathered that the villages attacked are
located on the boundary between Kaduna and
Plateau. The slain soldier was reportedly attached
to the Joint Task Force in Plateau.
The Centre for Development and Rights Advocacy
(CEDRA) urged the Federal Government to declare
a state of emergency in Kaduna state as the only
means of securing Southern Kaduna from such
attacks.
In a statement, its Director, John Danfulani, said:
“It is clear that Governor Yero of Kaduna State
and his security team are deficit of the knowledge
of effective administration and physical security
management.
The attack in Plateau State was on two
communities in villages bordering Plateau and
Kaduna states. No fewer than 32 people died.
The victims include two soldiers serving with the
Special Task Force on Jos crisis, code named,
“Operation Safe Haven”.
The two villages are Rajak and Atakar, parts of
which fall under Riyom local government of
Plateau State. The other part falls under Kaura
Local Government of Kaduna State.
The attack came less than 24 hours after a
security meeting organised by the Plateau State
Police to find a lasting peace in the state.
It also came less than a month after a similar
attack in Shonong village in Riyom local
government, which left about 40 people dead.
The gunmen, who invaded the two communities
at about 3am, were said to be in hundreds. They
were armed with sophisticated weapons.
A survivor, Joel Mana, said: “The gunmen started
shooting sporadically and setting homes on fire.
They shot any one who ran out of their houses to
escape. They have burnt more than 60 homes.”
He went on: “19 people were killed in Rajat village
while 11 people were killed in Atakar village by
the gunmen.”
Confirming the attack, the member representing
Riyom Constituency in the Plateau State House of
Assembly, Hon. Daniel Dem, said: “The police
confirmed to me that 32 members of my
constituency were killed by the gunmen. Initially,
we thought the casualty was 28, but it is actually
32 people. Among those killed were two soldiers
of the Special Task Force (STF).”
Dem described the incident as sad and inhuman.
“How can gunmen kill over 70 members of my
constituency within less than a month? This is a
slap on the security agencies”, he said.
The lawmaker said the victims had been given
mass burial in both villages and most of the
survivors had fled to parts of Kaduna State,
especially those whose houses were razed by the
attackers.
He urged the Federal Government to deploy more
troops in the area and begin aerial surveillance to
stop further attacks in the communities.
Plateau State Police confirmed the attack but
could not confirm the casualty figure.
The Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisis, code-
named Operation Safe Haven, said to have lost
two men, also did not speak on the attack.
No comments:
Post a Comment