Buhari Warns Over Fresh Violence in Plateau
Suspected gunmen on Friday evening made an attempt to raid another village close to Ncha in Miango district of Bassa Local Government Area, Plateau State, where 20 persons were earlier killed. Earlier, two attacks in Miango district of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State left 20 persons dead, 19 of them members of an extended family, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered.
The attacks occurred around 9pm of Thursday and 12:45am Friday, leaving about eight persons injured.
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered yesterday that gunmen whom the police say are suspected herders were also on a mission to avenge the killing and beheading of a Fulani boy last week. However, they were repelled by security agents before they got into Hukke village.
Chairman of the Miango Development Association, Irigwe Chiefdom in Bassa, David Chinge, told our correspondent that the gunmen had exchanged fire with security agents and in the process a young boy from the community had been shot in the leg.
He said, “there is a river between the village and some farmlands so the gunmen attempted to cross the river but they were repealed by the police. They also destroyed some crops in the area.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Tyopev Terna, confirmed that suspected assailants had attempted to raid another community in the Miango area, but were repelled by men of the police force.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday warned against violence.
The president expressed sadness over the senseless killing of persons, especially women and children in a night attack on Ancha village in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, expressed disappointment at the disruption of peace and normalcy that have reasonably taken root in the state.
The president urged stakeholders in the state not to allow this violent incident to destroy the progress made so far.
He reiterated his administration’s determination to protect the lives and property of all citizens wherever they reside.
He directed law enforcement agencies to apprehend the perpetrators of the Plateau killings and whoever their sponsors might be.
Buhari said: “It is unlawful of anyone or group to take the laws into their hands in the name of revenge or reprisals, rather than follow due process by allowing law enforcement agencies to fish out any such aggressors who will be made to face justice.
“The various communities in the state have taken many steps, with the support of security agencies and mediators to pull the state back from the brink of anarchy and senseless killings warranted by attacks and counter-attacks.
“It will be a painful loss to allow these unsavoury acts to return. I urge all our communities in the state and the other parts of the country to embrace peace and bring to a stop these painful and unnecessary killings.”
President Buhari prayed God to grant peace to the souls of the victims and comfort the grieving families and community.