19 killed in fresh Plateau attack

Nineteen people may have been killed in fresh violence Wednesday night in Miango district of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

This was two days after 13 people were confirmed dead in a crisis between Berom and Fulani in Riyom local government area.

The National President of Irigwe Development Association, Sunday Abdu , told Daily Trust on the telephone yesterday that the attack on Bassa left 19 persons dead in Ariri community of Miango district.

He said security agents had been deployed to the area and that the Police Divisional Officer had visited the scene.

Police Public Relations officer DSP Tyopev Terna said he could not give details on the violence in Bassa as security agents were trying to contain the situation and had sent deployment and an APC carrier to the area.

Operation Safe Haven Media and Information Officer Major Adam Umar also said details on the security situation in Bassa were sketchy, but confirmed that 13 persons were killed Tuesday night in Tonjol, Riyom Local Government Area, describing it as an attack and counter attack between Berom and Fulani communities.

Major Umar said the violence in Tanjol of Riyom followed the killing of three cows on September 19 in which a meeting between Berom and Fulani in the area was summoned.

He, however said, despite the peace meeting, a herder and five cows were later ambushed and killed in the area on September 29; while other cows were injured.

“Following that attack, another Fulani boy was shot in the hand and one cow killed on the 2nd of October and that same day an attack was launched on the Berom community of Tanjol and houses raised down while 13 people were killed,” he said.

The OPSH spokesperson said despite efforts by the multisecurity taskforce to get the people to live together in peace and refrain from taking laws into their hands, some criminals were capitalising on the issues, resulting in attack and counter attacks.

“Another problem we are facing is that some of the civilians now possess fire arms and we are calling on them to surrender the weapons so that the tendency of unleashing harvoc on communities can be reduced drastically," he said.