By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
Gunmen have again reportedly attacked the Tilengpat Pushit community in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, killing twelve persons.
It was learnt that the attacks leading to the death of the victims occurred in the late hours of Thursday.
Although the spokesman for the Plateau State Police Command, Alabo Alfred, could not be immediately reached for comment on the incident, sources at the Command headquarters in Jos said that security operatives had been deployed to the affected community.
Only last week, gunmen killed no fewer than ten persons in Mandung-Mushu and Kopnanle villages, in the Bokkos and Mangu local government areas of the State, leaving several persons injured, with property, including the homes of the villagers, set ablaze.
The Chairman of Mangu Local Government Area, Markus Argue, on Friday, confirmed the latest killings in Jos.
“Yes, it is true that our people have just been attacked again and killed for no reason. It happened last night. As I talk to you, I’m in the affected community in Pushit. I can not give you the figure of victims for now because we are still assessing the situation but what we don’t understand is why some people will just target women and children in their homes and just kill them for no reason.
A community leader in Pushit, who gave his name simply as John, however, said that twelve dead bodies had so far been recovered at the scene of the attack and the nearby bush from the latest attack.
He said also that the identities of the victims have not yet been disclosed, pending notification of their families, and added that, “the Law enforcement agencies are also here and have initiated investigations into the matter to ascertain the motive behind these heinous crimes and to apprehend the perpetrators responsible for this reprehensible act”.
