FOLLOWING the killing of three people in Barakin-Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State on Monday, 14 other inhabitants of neighbouring Riyom council area were murdered in the early hours of Wednesday by people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen on a reprisal mission.
It will recalled that a group of gunmen suspected to be Fulani, on Tuesday, stormed a village in Barakin-Ladi Local Government Area of the state and killed three people, while the natives also killed one Fulani man in reprisal, leading to the declaration of curfew in the council area.
Irked by the killing of their kinsmen, Nigerian Tribune learnt that a group of people suspected to be Fulani regrouped and carried out serial raids on three villages in the neighbouring Riyom Local Government Area and killed 14 people while scores of others sustained injuries.
A source close to the local government revealed that the assailants, who were in large numbers and armed with various weapons, simultaneously raided the three villages at about 3.45 a.m. and as well destroyed many valuables.
It was gathered that the group of the bandits alleged to be imported into the area invaded Dallyam village in Tahoss District at exactly 3.45 a.m. and snuffed life out of four members of a family by shooting them at very close range and destroyed many valuables and wounded people at random within the village before they escaped.
While the attack was going on, another set of terrorists was also raiding another village in Ranghol in Sopp ward of the local government area and also killed eight people from different homes within the village, while two other people were also killed in Lotton village in Jol ward of the same council area the same morning.
Speaking with Nigerian Tribune, a member of the House of Representatives representing Barakin-Ladi and Riyom federal constituency, Honourable Simon Mwadkom, said 14 people were killed in the attacks alleged to have been perpetrated by the Fulani, adding that they (attacks) were organised as they were carried out simultaneously in the three affected villages in the local government.
According to him, everybody had assumed that peace had returned to the area based on the relative peace enjoyed in recent times but these latest attacks were barbaric and a reflection of weakness of the authorities to address the situation.
“Nigeria is becoming a lawless country; people perform atrocity at will because they know they will go scot free. Killing innocent people is gradually becoming a natural phenomenon in Nigeria, governments at all levels need to rise to the occasion,” he said.
However, the state police command through its Public Relations Officer, DSP Emmanuel Abuh, confirmed that six people were killed but Nigerian Tribune gathered that 14 bodies had been deposited at the mortuary as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, two members of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Kano were on Wednesday shot dead by gunmen, while another one sustained an injury. A fourth one escaped unhurt.
A source hinted that the incident occurred around Madobi junction when the FRSC men were going for operation inside their vehicle.
They were, however, attacked by the gunmen who were on motorbike.
Following the attack, two of the FRSC men died instantly.
The source further hinted that one of the FRSC officers who were inside the vehicle escaped unhurt in the attack.
The corpses of the two FRSC have been deposited at the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, while the one who sustained injury was also being treated.
Though the NYSC sector commander, Mr Zaki Alkali, confirmed the attack, he could not categorically say whether his men were killed or sustained injuries during the attack.
It will be recalled that gunmen suspected to be militants of the Boko Haram sect on Tuesday gunned down two policemen in Kano. Police said the victims were on polio immunisation assignment when they were ambushed by unknown gunmen who shot them.
However, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris said eight persons were arrested by his command over the incident.
He added that the police recovered three AK 47 rifles from the suspects, adding that two out of the recovered rifles belonged to the police, while one belonged to the suspects.
The sad incident occurred at mid-day at the Kofar Dawanau area in the popular Dawanau grain market, in the suburb of the state capital.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, confirmed the incident to the Nigerian Tribune in a telephone chat.
According to him, the deceased officers were attached to the immunisation task force and were on assignment when they received a distress call.
“It was in response to the distress call that they were ambushed by their attackers, who shot and killed the two policemen instantly, while a woman also identified as a member of the immunisation team sustained injury and is currently on admission for medical treatment,” he said.
At the time of this report, men of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) were said to have moved to the scene of the incident, while the police said they had spread their dragnet to track down the perpetrators of the crime.
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