FRESH ATTACK IN PLATEAU SEVEN KILLED, FOUR INJURED

Seven persons have been killed and four others wounded in what was suspected to be a reprisal attack on a settlement in Kwal, in Miango, Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State. The attack came barely a week after a Fulani man was killed in Gero village, in Jos South Local Government Area of the state.
Commander of the special task force (STF) on Jos crises, Brig. Gen. Hassan Umoru, who confirmed the fresh attack, said it was carried out at about 2:23am yesterday, saying this latest attack in Bassa Local Government Area was the fifth in two months.
He said the four people injured were currently receiving treatment at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), while the dead ones have been buried in a mass grave by their relatives.
Spokesman of the STF, Navy Lt. Jerry Ayim-Odu, disclosed that among the seven victims were two men, while the rest were women and children.
Umoru said this fresh attack may have been carried out by the Fulanis, adding, however, that this has to be confirmed by the police. He said the task force had handed over the investigation to the police because “we know they are capable and at the end of their investigation, we will be able to know if the attack was actually carried out by Fulanis.”
The commander said they suspected the attackers to be Fulanis because his troops raided the assailants and found empty cases of cartridges and daggers mostly used by the Fulanis. He, however, said: “But no arrest was made because the troop did not get any of them.”
Speaking on the series of attacks, especially in Jos South and Bassa Local Government areas of the state, the commander said investigation might be slow but the police were trying their best and “we hope they will reveal those behind these attacks at the end of the day.”
Brig. Gen. Umoru said: “People did not understand that they are operating under a difficult situation because Plateau is wide and has very terrible terrain, full of hills, rocks and gullies. We often find it difficult to get to where these attacks are carried out.
“Due to this obvious hindrance to our operation, our troops do not always get to these points of attack until the assailants are gone. But it does not end there; we launch investigation after each of these attacks and we hope eventually we will found out the attackers.”
He said the task force is working together with the police and everything possible is being done to unravel the mysteries.
The task force leader pointed out that troops have been deployed to the areas to prevent further attack.