…as Vice President visits communities
The death toll in the latest segment of the two-decade long coordinated acts of terror in Plateau State has risen to 148 from the last estimate of 115, the Chairman of Bokkos Local Government Area, Monday Kassa disclosed on Wednesday.
This comes as gunmen stormed over 15 communities in the Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi Local Government Areas of the state on Christmas Eve, carrying out wanton acts of murder, looting and destruction.
Several houses were set ablaze by the attackers on Sunday night. The gun-wielding men also looted farm produce and destroyed properties.
Eminent personalities and groups have been expressing outrage at the latest incident which has also left countless individuals still unaccounted for.
These include President Bola Tinubu, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Northern Governors Forum (NGF).
President Bola Tinubu has directed security agencies to unmask the attackers.
The toll of 148 murders marks a sharp rise from the initial figure of just 16 reported by the army on Sunday evening, which was later updated to 115 before this latest update.
Monday Kassa, Chairman of Bokkos Local Government Area, disclosed this latest figure of the dead, during a visit by Vice President Kashim Shettima, three days after the incident.
Kassa said 38 communities were struck in the latest attack on Sunday, the worst outbreak of violence in Plateau since May, when more than 100 people were killed in similar fashion.
Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has said that the attacks were not caused by religious acts or a clash between farmers and herders but were simply pure acts of terrorism and gruesome murders.
Mutfwang gave fresh perspective to the two decades long acts of terror which have claimed thousands of lives in the state and pointed at locations and groups that security agencies need to interrogate if they are serious about resolving the problem.
He went further to say that it appeared that certain culpable individuals and groups linked to the incidents were being shielded by some power blocs.
In his speech, the Vice President said President Tinubu’s administration is determined to bring to an end the security challenges in the Plateau and other parts of the country.
Shettima assured the people of justice and that the perpetrators of the heinous act would be brought to book.
He further directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide immediate intervention to those affected, especially those displaced from their homes.
