Gunmen Kill Over 20 In Nasarawa Communities

No fewer than 20 persons have been reported dead in a renewed outbreak of violence in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, while many were displaced.

One of the victims of the attack on Kompany community, Mr. Musa Mohammed, told newsmen that the gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen pounced on the community at about 11pm on Tuesday night, killing anyone at sight and burning down houses.

He said 19 corpses, comprising mostly women and children, were recovered yesterday morning in an attack that lasted till 2am.

According to him, residents of the area are still taking refuge in the bushes nearby for fear of another attack.

“When some youths returned to the village in the morning, 19 corpses were recovered with over 40 houses destroyed. As I am talking to you now, our people are still in the bush and are making frantic efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of their family members and other relations,” he said.

Mohammed lamented that this was the second time Fulani gunmen have attacked the community within two months and called on government to redouble its efforts towards restoring lasting peace in the state, especially the southern senatorial district which has been the flashpoint of crisis in the past three years.

In a related development two young men were on Tuesday night killed by suspected Fulani gunmen at Bukan Allu village in Lafia local government.

The village head, ASP Audu Abashi (rtd) who gave the names of the deceased as Danlami Akaebe, 40, and Monday Iliya, 20, said he had prior information of the attack but thought it was a mere rumour, until around 11pm when gunfire rattled the villagers and sent them running helter skelter.

He disclosed that another victim of the attack who sustained a bullet wound in the leg was receiving treatment at a private hospital in Tudum Amba area of the state capital.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Ismaila Numan, confirmed the killing of the two persons at Bukan Allu but declined to make any comment on the Kompany attack, saying he was yet to be briefed on the crisis.