National president of the Mwaghavul Youth Movement (MYM), Comrade Sunday Dankaka, has said over 91 persons were killed in last week’s attacks by gunmen in Mangu local government area of Plateau State.
But the police authorities through the assistant inspector-general of police (AIG) Zone 4, Ebong Eyibio, said 10 corpses were recovered. The AIG added that only 10 houses were burnt during the attack.
In an interaction with newsmen in Jos, the state capital, Dankaka said from January 22 till date, those killed in the crisis in Mangu included 42 women, 37 children and 12 men.
He said, “158 persons were injured in the attacks and some are still receiving treatment in eight different hospitals in the council. A total of 114 houses were burnt by the gunmen.”
Dankaka said over 202 shops were burnt and looted with about nine mosques and 15 churches affected by the recent violence in Mangu LGA.
LEADERSHIP reports that gunmen had on December 24, 2023, attacked over 20 communities in Bokkos local government area of the state and killed over 200 persons.
Similarly, gunmen also attacked some communities in Mangu council of the state last week killing several persons and destroying properties.
Meanwhile, a group, Equity International, has called on the federal government to intensify humanitarian support to communities that have come under attacks by gunmen in Mangu and Bokkos councils of Plateau State.
It said, “We are calling on the federal government and security agencies to immediately reclaim and secure all abandoned farm lands, and abandoned homes so that all the farmers who left their ancestral lands can feel safe to return to their communities and their farm lands.”
“We are also calling on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to intensify humanitarian support to all the affected communities.”
Ambassador Chris Iyama, who spoke on behalf of Equity International, lamented that 230 innocent people within just a month were killed in the state.
He added that “ What is most painful about these unfortunate killings is that people were preparing to celebrate Christmas and in the dead of the night, they were slaughtered.
“The enemies of humanity slaughter women, children and a few weeks old new born babies.
“What is more worrisome is that these attacks went on unabated for hours without restraint from security agencies or anyone else. As an organisation we condemn this unprovoked attack on humanity, regardless of the reasons behind them.
“There is no justification for the killing of innocent people at night in their sleep. We wish to call on government at all levels to do the needful in ensuring that the perpetrators are arrested and made to pay in accordance with the law,” Iyama said.
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