Death toll from Wednesday’s attacks in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State has risen to 52, according to local authorities.
This followed the recovery of 40 more bodies on Wednesday and Thursday night while the search and rescue team kept combing the bushes for missing persons.
The Chairman of Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) Vanguard, Farmasum Fuddang, journalists that 31 persons were given a mass burial on Thursday with another five underaged victims burnt to ashes in Hurti village.
He said 11 others were killed in Ruwi village, four in Manguna village, with one person killed in Daffo village.
Fuddang said residents were awaiting an outcome of the ongoing search and rescue of missing persons in the Hurti and Mbar villages.
Meanwhile, the Plateau state government has condemned the attacks and called for calm, disclosing that a coordinated security response is currently ongoing in the affected areas.
In a statement on Friday, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joyce Ramnap, expressed concern over the renewed attacks.
She described the unfortunate incident as a setback to the gains recorded in maintaining law and order by security agencies in the area.
The commissioner said, “Security agencies have deployed and dominated these areas to ensure normalcy returns at the shortest possible time.
“Additionally, important arrests have been made by the security agencies, and this will hopefully help in stemming the tide of this ugly situation.”
Ramnap also urged Plateau residents to exercise restraint and refrain from taking the law into their own hands as the state government has deployed strategic measures to enhance intelligence gathering, surveillance, and rapid response mechanisms in collaboration with security operatives.
Also, religious, traditional, and community leaders have been urged to reinforce the message of peace, unity, and lawful engagement as the government is committed to upholding law and order and will not relent in its pursuit of justice against those who seek to destabilize the communities.
The statement urged residents to remain law-abiding, support security efforts, and utilize official channels for security concerns.
