Over 40 killed in midnight attack on Plateau community

Another dark chapter has unfolded in Plateau State as no fewer than 40 people have been confirmed dead following a brutal attack on Zike community, Kimakpa, in the Kwall district of Bassa Local Government Area.

The devastating incident occurred in the early hours of Monday when armed assailants stormed the sleeping village, opening fire indiscriminately on residents. The attack left families shattered and the community in mourning.

Wakili Tongwe, a local community leader from Kwall, spoke to Channels Television via telephone, recounting the terrifying experience. He revealed that a group of vigilantes, including himself and some security personnel, had been patrolling a nearby community when the attackers struck Zike.

“We were on night patrol when we heard gunshots,” Tongwe said. “By the time we arrived, it was too late. They had already done serious damage. People were killed in their sleep or as they tried to flee.”

Though the security personnel engaged the invaders and succeeded in repelling the attackers, the damage had been done, with about thirty-six persons shot dead and four others dying later.

Some other residents sustained gunshot wounds and are receiving medical attention at the hospital.

Security agencies in the state are yet to comment on the attack, which is coming in less than two weeks after fifty-two persons were killed in some communities of the Bokkos Local Government Area of the North-Central state.

Plateau State has, for several decades, become a hotbed of killings, with gunmen sacking entire communities. Experts blame the fight for resources between farmers and herders as a major cause of the attacks.