Updated: Mutfwang says over 115 persons killed in 20 communities, 3 LGA’s in Plateau as criminals launch fresh attacks

In a harvest of death in Plateau State, over 115 persons have been reported killed by criminals in fresh attacks on several communities across three LGA’s- Bokkos, Barkin-Ladi and Mangu.

This was disclosed Tuesday by Caleb Mutfuang, the Plateau State governor on ARISE News talk show programme, The Morning Show saying that the attacks were ongoing until 10 pm on Monday, Christmas day.

But several other reports brandished 70, 113 and over, as the number of deaths recorded in the attack that started on Saturday, 23rd untill Monday, 25th Dec. 2023.

In addition, Mutfwang said already, 15 persons were buried in Mangu and several houses were reported to have been set ablaze by the attackers who also looted farm produce and destroyed properties in the process.

And commenting on the violence in Plateau often painted as ethno-religious conflict between Muslim herders and mainly Christian farmers, Muftwang said, “This is pure criminality, terrorism. It has nothing to do with ethnicity, It has nothing to do with religion.

“They had distress calls fron 36 communities but a lot of damage has been done before intervention owing to the distance and peculiarities of the topography of the communities.

Earlier Saturday, Governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the act and called for swift action and community vigilance in the communities.

In a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere, the governor directed security agencies to promptly apprehend the perpetrators responsible for the heinous acts and ensure they face the full force of the law.

The governor also urged members of communities across the state to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to security operatives for immediate action.

Transition Implementation Committee Chairman of Bokkos Local Government Area, Monday Kasa, told Channels Television that the coordinated attacks occurred on Saturday and lasted into the Christmas Eve when residents were already in the festive mood.

The acting chairman of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Monday Kassah, said, “The attacks were well-coordinated. Not fewer than 20 different communities were attacked by the bandits.”

The local government boss explained further that the casualty figures is increasing as more dead bodies are being recovered by the team of security personnel, local vigilantes and hunters who are still going through the bushes combing the communities in search of missing persons who were ambushed during the attacks.

It is the worst outbreak of violence in Plateau since May, when more than 100 people were killed in farmer-herder attacks.

Plateau is one of several ethnically and religiously diverse hinterland states known as Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where inter-communal conflict has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years.