No fewer than 40 were reportedly kílled when terrorists launched a fresh attack on the Zike community, located in the Kimakpa area of Kwall District in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, in the early hours of Monday.
Local sources said the attackers stormed the village in the pre-dawn hours, opening fire on unsuspecting residents as they fled in panic.
Community leader Wakili Tongwe, speaking to Channels Television, reportedly confirmed the attack and detailed the ensuing chaos.
Tongwe said he and a team of vigilantes, along with some security personnel, were on patrol in a neighbouring community when gunshots rang out from Zike.
By the time they arrived and managed to repel the assailants, the community had already suffered devastating losses.
“At least thirty-six people were shot dead on the spot, and four others later succumbed to their injuries,” Channels Television quoted Tongwe as saying.
Tongwe said that several others were wounded and were receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.
As of the time of filing this report, security agencies have yet to release an official statement regarding the incident.
Multiple attempts by SaharaReporters to confirm the attack through the Plateau State Police Command were unsuccessful.
When initially contacted, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Alfred Alabo, answered the call, but no audio was heard from his end. Subsequent calls went unanswered.
A WhatsApp message was also sent to Alabo and followed up with another call. Although he was active online, he neither picked up nor responded to the message at the time of this report.
This incident comes less than two weeks after another màssacre in the Bokkos Local Government Area, where 52 people were kílled in a similar assault.
Analysts point to the ongoing conflict between farmers and herders over land and resources as a root cause of the crisis, but government officials suggest a more sinister motive.
Governor Caleb Muftwang, speaking recently on Channels Television’s Politics Today, described the attacks as part of a broader, coordinated campaign of ethnic cleansing.
“I can tell you in all honesty that I cannot find any explanation other than genocide sponsored by terrórists,” the governor said.
“The question is, who are the persons behind the organisers of this terrórism? This is what the security agencies must help us to unravel.”
Muftwang also revealed that bandits have taken over at least 64 communities in the state, spanning Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Riyom local government areas.
“These places have been taken over, renamed, and people are living there conveniently on lands they pushed others away from,” he stated.
Unfortunately, despite repeated assurances from state and federal governments, Plateau residents continue to live under the shadow of violence, with fears of more attacks looming large.
As the deàth toll rises, the demand for answers and justice grows louder.
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