On Thursday morning, gunmen attacked Heipang, a community in Barkin Ladi local government, Plateau state, killing 17 people.
The Daily Trust reports that the attack happened around 1am when most of the community’s residents were asleep.
This attack comes three days after a traveler returning from Kara, a cattle market in Bukuru, was attacked and killed in the Heipang area.
The Berom Youth Shapers Association (BYM) on Tuesday condemned the murder of the traveler, explaining that the attack was purely a criminal act by enemies of peace.
Confirming the latest incident, spokesman for Operation Safe Haven, a multi-security task force in the state, Ola James, said troops from the operation were deployed to the community to restore law and order.
“There was an early warning sign that some bandits might launch attacks in the area, prompting the operation to set up checkpoints in the area, but the bandits followed another route and attacked the community. 17 were confirmed dead. The OPSH commander was in the attacked community.
“We suspect it was a retaliatory attack after the incident that occurred on Monday. We have deployed our men to restore law and order in the area,” the spokesman said.
John Pam, the statewide People’s Democratic Party (PDP) youth leader in the area, who also confirmed the incident, said his brother was killed in the attack.
On Wednesday, the Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwanginaugurated a Security and Information Center (SIC) with the objective of facilitating public access to information related to security and transmitting incidents to the corresponding authorities for prompt action.
Mr. Mutfwang said the Center established by the Plateau State Information and Communication Technology Development Agency (PICTDA) seeks to bridge the communication gap between the general public and the government.
He said the Center will use basic technology to set up a free hotline, which will allow citizens to share information without incurring charges, using the phone number 080 0000 5555.
Mutfwang said the center is now operational and people can call, stressing that the state government will cover the cost of all incoming calls on behalf of citizens.
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