THE coordinated attack on some communities in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State in the past seven days has so far claimed 52 lives.
This comes as the state government confirmed that some arrests have been made in connection with the attack.
Saturday Tribune learnt that after 15 bodies were recovered in four villages on Wednesday, further search by the locals revealed that there were those that were killed while trying to escape when the gunmen struck.
It was gathered that the search led to the recovery of 40 more corpses of persons that were killed by the rampaging gunmen, while there were those still missing, as declared by their relations.
The chairman of the Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC), Farmasum Fuddang, on Friday confirmed that 31 persons were given a mass burial on Thursday, with five other underage victims burnt to ashes in Hurti village; 11 others were killed in Ruwi village, and four persons were killed in Manguna, with one person killed in Dafo village.
Meanwhile, the Plateau State government said some suspects have been arrested in connection with the killing of innocent citizens in five communities of the Bokkos Local Government Council of the state on Wednesday.
The State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Hon. Joyce Ramnap, in a statement made available to newsmen, strongly condemned the recent wave of killings in the local government, adding that the state government, in conjunction with the security agencies, is making concerted efforts to bring those behind the attack to book.
She pointed out that Governor Caleb Mutfwang and his administration remain fully committed to ensuring the safety and security of all Plateau residents.
“Security agencies have been deployed and have dominated these areas to ensure normalcy returns in 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.”
The government called on all residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the relevant security agencies, adding that citizens must equally cooperate with law enforcement to facilitate the identification and apprehension of those responsible for these heinous acts.
Meanwhile, efforts to reach the spokesman of the Plateau State Police Command, DSP Alfred Alabi, on his phone for further confirmation proved abortive.
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