Gunmen kill three, injure seven others, burn houses in Plateau

Gunmen suspected to be killer herdsmen on Tuesday attacked Achan community in Bassa local government area of the state, burning houses and killing three persons in the process.

About seven others were injured during the attack.

A source in the community told Tribune Online that the incident occurred at about 11:45 pm on Tuesday when the people of the community were in their respective houses, adding that the gunmen shot indiscriminately in different directions and burnt houses at random with the intention of smoking them out of their respective houses.

The said source: “In the afternoon we noticed some strange herdsmen rearing their cows in this community, we reported to the police who told us that the herdsmen have no ulterior motives but at about 11:45 pm there were sporadic gunshots from different directions within the community.

“No one could come out and we later discovered that three persons were killed and seven others seriously injured. Apart from this, they destroyed some farms produce before they bolted away,” he said.

Chairman of Irigwe Development Association, Hon. Sunday Abdul, said the entire Irigwe land has been under siege for quite some time, adding that the attackers had initially attacked a nearby village but met stiff resistance before they moved in their large number to Achan village.

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“At about 11:45 they came to Achan, they were many that nobody could resist them. They burnt houses at random, burnt four cars and killed three people while many other sustained various degrees of injuries.

“Our major concern is why did Operations Safe Haven deployed to the area were withdrawn? Since they pulled out in all the surrounding villages, hostilities have resumed and they did not tell us why they pulled out. Our question is what is the rationale behind the pulling out of the community.”

The State Police Public Relations Officer ASP Ubah Gabriel who confirmed the incident said three people were killed in the unfortunate incident, adding that the command has commenced an investigation into the attack.