A new report by Amnesty International Nigeria on Thursday showed that 1,336 people were killed in Plateau State between December 2023 and February 2024, noting that the figures are basically from Mangu, Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi local government areas of the state.
According to the report, 29,554 people are currently displaced in the three LGAs within the period under review.
Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, made the disclosure in Jos during a ‘Photo Exhibition on the Impact of Conflicts and Humanitarian Situations in some Communities of Plateau State Affected by Violent Attacks’.
The figures are drawn from a thorough finding conducted by his organisation in collaboration with key government agencies, Sanusi said, saying, “Weeks after the deadly Christmas Eve attacks on Barkin-Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu, our research team visited some of the affected areas.
“We discovered that between December 2023 and February 2024, 1,336 people were killed, among which are 533 women, 263 children, and 540 men. 29,554 people are displaced from their homes, including 13,093 children and 16,461 women.”
He therefore called on the government to investigate the incidents and ensure justice for the victims and survivors, as well as their families, and also ensure that the perpetrators of the attacks are brought to justice through a fair trial.
“Displaced persons must be provided with adequate humanitarian support and children’s education must be continued. We urge the government to investigate security lapses that enabled gunmen to carry out these attacks and get away with it.
“Those with responsibility of protecting lives and property must be held to account and special attention be paid to how the conflict affects children,” he said.
It could be recalled that sometime ago the Plateau State government constituted a resettlement committee to work toward ensuring that all displaced persons in the state return to their ancestral homes.
