Plateau: Death Toll In Week Of Killings Rises To 20

Four people were killed early yesterday in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State bringing to 20 the number of lives lost in skirmishes between locals and suspected Fulanis within a week.


Four others were seriously injured in the attack carried out in three villages by unknown assailants.


It had been a week of killings and reprisals between the Berom natives and the Fulani in Riyom and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas since Tuesday when two farmers were allegedly shot while returning home from farm.


A reprisal by local youths resulted in the killing of a Fulani man and, since then, the raid on villages by suspected Fulani attackers has become a daily occurrence.


On Wednesday, a total of 14 people were killed when gunmen launched simultaneous attacks on three villages in Riyom Local Government Area.


Early Friday, a 75-year-old woman was killed at Sara village resulting in a protest by hundreds of women who took over the highway to protest the killing, alleging ineffectiveness on the part of security agents on ground.


The women, who brandished leaves and chanted anti-military songs, disrupted traffic along the Jos-Abuja highway for hours leaving travelers stranded.


The Special Task Force (STF), in a statement by Lt. Kingsley Egbo, confirmed that there had been tension in the area since unknown gunmen attacked the village and killed a 75-year-old woman.


The hostilities between the Berom and the Fulani have, so far, defied solution despite intervention on various fronts.


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