Gunmen Invade Plateau Community, Kill 17

By Babatunde Solanke

Operation Safe Haven, a multi-security taskforce maintaining peace in Plateau State has confirmed that no fewer than 17 persons have been killed in a fresh attack by gunmen on Heipang Community in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that the attack occurred around 1am, when most residents of the community were asleep.

The Spokesperson of the Operation Safe Haven in the state, Captain Ola James, who confirmed the latest development on Thursday, 10 August, 2023,  said troops of the operation had been deployed to the community.

“There was an early warning signal that some bandits could launch attacks in the area which prompted the operation to mount checkpoints in the area but the bandits followed another route, and attacked the community. 17 were confirmed killed. The commander of OPSH was in the attacked community.

“We suspect that it was a reprisal following the incident that happened in Monday. We have deployed our men to restore law and other in the area,” the spokesperson said.

The state youth leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the northern zone, Mr John Mark Pam, who also confirmed the incident, said he had lost his brother.

The latest attack is coming three days after a commuter, who was returning from Kara, a cattle market in Bukuru was attacked and killed in the Heipang area.

The Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM) had on Tuesday, 8, August, 2023 condemned the killing of the commuter, explaining that the attack was purely an act of criminality by enemies of peace.

Meanwhile, the state Governor, Caleb Mutfwang,  has condemned the bloody attack that claimed several lives in the Heipang community of Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area in the early hours of Thursday.

The governor, who stated this on Thursday, 10 August,2023 in a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Affairs, Mr. Gyang Bere, also condemned the recent attacks in some villages in Mangu Local Government Area where more lives were lost.

 Mutfwang appealed to security agencies to redouble their efforts and put an end to the senseless killings of innocent people in the rural communities of Mangu and Barkin-Ladi.

He described the deteriorating security situation in some parts of the state as unfortunate and called for greater collaboration between community leaders and security agencies to prevent further attacks.

Governor Mutfwang emphasized the importance of peace and unity among all citizens, regardless of faith or ethnicity, for the development and growth of the state. 

He expressed his sympathy for the affected communities and families of the deceased, assuring them of the government’s commitment to addressing the issues.

Governor Mutfwang prayed for comfort for the grieving people of Heipang and Mangu and urged them to make use of the security and information center activated by the state government to communicate security information for prompt intervention.