Over 130 People feared Dead in the Plateau Killings

News Media says that more than 130 corpses have been found in two deserted villages in Barkin Ladi local government area in of Plateau following fresh attacks by out-of-control killers.

The gruesome discovery came barely two days after two top politicians were killed by gunmen as they attended a burial ceremony for numerous victims of a mass slaughter.

A security source said  that displaced persons seeking refuge at different locations have disclosed that more than 130 corpses currently litter several villages affected by the worsening crisis. Our source added that emergency workers had yet to reach the areas most affected by the carnage owing to a lack of security.

An eyewitness source in Jos, the capital of Plateau, revealed that gunmen had sacked several villages. “These gunmen have stormed different areas, engaging in sporadic shooting and burning of houses,” he said.

The source added, “We became aware because the news reached us before we could go to pick the death bodies of our relations in other villages.”
 
SRNews

Following media reports that close to 140 indigenes of Plateau State were killed by unknown gunmen in reprisal attacks in two villages in Jos, Defence Headquarters, Abuja, yesterday, denied the reports, saying same was the figment of imagination of the Nigerian media.

Defence Headquarters reassured Nigerian and Plateau State indigenes that the security situation in the country was seriously being addressed by the Armed Forces in collaboration with other security agencies, adding that the Joint Task Force, JTF, had been able to restore normalcy to Plateau State.

Chief of Administration at the Defence Headquarters, Rear Admiral Dele Ezeoba, said no such mass killings happened anywhere in Plateau State.

Ezeoba, who spoke for the Chief of Defence Staff, said: “The attention of the Defence Headquarters had been drawn to reports in the media that there were fresh attacks on Tse and Shong villages in Plateau State on Tuesday, which claimed 140 lives.

“According to the reports credited to media houses, the fresh attacks came barely days after the previous one that occurred over the weekend.

“The Defence Headquarters wishes to use this opportunity to emphatically and categorically debunk the said reports in their entirety and to assure Nigerians that there was no such attack as claimed in the said reports.

“It is readily evident that the Special Task Force in Plateau State had been able to restore normalcy to the state despite the recent incident which is highly regrettable.

“Defence Headquarters wishes to once again reassure Nigerians that the security situation in Plateau State, and indeed across the country, was seriously being addressed by the Nigerian Armed Forces in collaboration with other security agencies.”

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