Gunmen Kill 10 People In Plateau State; Community Plans Mass Burial

Fulani Gunmen reportedly killed 10 people in Plateau State and destroyed several village houses. The Plateau community is planning to do a mass burial of the victims, a resident disclosed on Monday.

Moses Fwan, who is a resident of Kulben village where the incident took place on Sunday around 10:00 p.m., shared that the Armed Fulani militia group stormed the Kulben village and destroyed houses.

"Armed Fulani militia group attacked our community in Kulben village within Kombun District of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State," Fwan said, Punch reported. "The gunmen came to the village at about 10 pm on Sunday 10/09/2023 and killed 10 of our people."

He added, "They also injured many others and destroyed our property, including houses. Presently, our people are mourning the gruesome killing of their kinsmen and arrangement is ongoing to conduct mass burial of the victims."

The Chairman of Mwaghavul Development Association in Kombun District, Elisha has also confirmed the attack and said, "From the information I got, 10 persons were killed during the invasion. I'm on my way to the village. We will communicate later, please."

The Media Officer for the Military Special Task Force, Captain Oya James, who is in charge of maintaining peace in the area, said that he is unaware of any such attack. However, he promised that an investigation would take place.

Alfred Alabo, who serves as the spokesman for the state police, condemned the attack and said that the affected community has been deployed with security operatives.

"The police are working with other security agents to keep law and order in the society. Although we can't be everywhere, those who are attacking vulnerable communities and killing innocent people are simply cowards," he said.

He added, "That's why we will continue to appeal to the public to provide us with relevant information so that we will be able to act quickly and address any challenge whatsoever."

Last month, at least 13 people were killed in two separate attacks by Boko Haram Jihadists in the villages of Wulari and Maiwa in northeastern Nigeria's Borno.

Nigeria has been affected by several internal conflicts including the Boko Haram insurgency. The attacks from bandits increased in the early 2020s. In April 2022, more than 150 were killed in Plateau State by a gang of bandits.

Aside from the killings, there are many other reasons for Nigerians to struggle such as surging inflation, the currency redesign policy, slow post-COVID-19 recovery, and unprecedented floods last year.