Gunmen Kill Eight In Fresh Plateau Attack

At least eight persons have again been reportedly killed in Plateau State by gunmen.

The latest killing, it was gathered, occurred in the NTV community near Bokkos Local Government Area of the state in the early hours of Monday.

The spokesman for the military task force in the state Captain Oya James, confirmed the attack to PUNCH Online in Jos on Monday but said they were yet to verify the number of persons who died during the invasion

He said, “Yes, I learned that there was an attack in the village last night. I called the commander on the field and he said they had not got all the sum up. But there were loss of lives during the attack and troops had been deployed in the communities in the general areas.”

However, a resident of the community Philip Manji, who escaped the attack told our correspondent that eight persons were killed.

Manji said, “This is a black Christmas for us at NTV in Barkin Ladi LGA. It was by the grace of God that I’m alive today. The attackers who have sworn to uproot the NTV community came in large numbers last night and overpowered the few vigilantes, killing and burning houses.

“So far, we have lost eight persons and several houses burnt during the brazen attack on our people .”

PUNCH Online reports that gunmen had earlier killed at least 14 persons in the neighbouring Lisham Kwahasnat community, situated between the Mangu and Bokkos Local Government Areas of the state.

Following the renewed killings, the state government directed the military task force and other security agencies to go after the attackers and stop the killings while urging citizens to embrace peace and love one another as his administration intensified efforts to address the challenges.