Mr. Simon Lalong, Governor of Plateau State.
By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – Fresh attack in the early hours of Friday has claimed not less than 10 lives including those of children as gunmen opened fire on some villagers at Te’egbe village, Miango district, Irigwe chiefdom, Bassa local government area of Plateau state.
It would be recalled that two men were killed in Ancha village in Bassa on Tuesday afternoon while working on a farm. This is not the first time the mentioned villages have been attacked by people survivors claim are Fulani herdsmen.
The latest incident, survivors said occurred shortly after midnight when the villagers were asleep and the gunmen stormed the village, shooting sporadically, gunning down scared villagers who were scampering for safety.
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Apart from the loss of lives, some residents sustained various degrees of injuries, houses and food barns were also razed by the invaders.
Reacting, the State Governor, Simon Lalong expressed displeasure at the development saying, “this is another sad incident which is clearly the handiwork of criminals that are bent on instilling fear, pain and sorrow among the people with a view to destabilising the State and making fortune from their criminality as well as rupturing the substantial peace attained.”
The Governor, in a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr. Makut Macham condemned the attack, adding, “there is no explanation that can justify it,” and directs security agencies to “take immediate and drastic steps to apprehend the perpetrators and ensure that they pay for their crimes.”
He assured, “no resources and efforts will be spared in painstakingly following up on the trail of those who derive joy in attacking and killing innocent citizens and destroying their homes and means of livelihoods. I expect the security agencies to deploy everything at their disposal to arrest those who carried out the crime no matter how long it takes. Government will not take any excuse for failure to achieve this directive.”
While commiserating with the victims and families of those killed, he maintained that they will get justice and also directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the State Peace Building Agency to “immediately visit the area and assess the level of damage with a view to carrying out immediate intervention and bringing succour to people who are in need as a result of the barbaric attack.”
