Gunmen have allegedly attacked two Plateau State towns, murdering seven people.
The victims were claimed to have died after being attacked by assailants in the early hours of Thursday in the communities of Pukah and Pinper in the state’s Mangu Local Government Area.
While six men and a woman were killed in Pukah, gunmen took lambs and other domestic animals in Pinper.
On Thursday, a resident of the Pukah community, John Mark, confirmed the deaths to The PUNCH in Jos.
“The Pukah community in Plateau State’s Mangu Local Government Area came under heavy attack by gunmen early this morning (Thursday),” Mark stated. They also attacked Pinper, another hamlet in the council district.
“They killed one woman and six men in the Pukah community.” However, before fleeing the settlements, they carted away a large number of sheep in Pinper.
Mark, who denounced the act, stated that it was reported to security personnel.
When reached, Captain Oya James, the spokesman for the Military Taskforce in charge of maintaining peace in the state, said he would get back to our correspondent about the attack but had yet to do so as of the time of reporting this story.
According to the PUNCH, the seven people were killed by gunmen in the Mangu community just hours after the state government had trained 600 people for the state-owned security outfit known as Operation Rainbow.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who expressed his appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for his support to state-owned security outfits during their passing out parade in Jos on Wednesday, stated that the revitalisation of the outfit was timely, coming at a time when the state needed to consolidate on the gains of tackling security challenges that had ravaged the state for years.
He warned the operatives that his administration would not tolerate indiscipline and unprofessional behavior and charged them to contribute their fair share to efforts to protect residents’ lives and property.
(Credit: Punch)