At least nine persons have been killed when gunmen attack the Maikatako community in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.
In the Tuesday night attack, it was learnt that the assailants also set several houses on fire causing a stampede in the community.
A resident of Maikato community, John Bature, who escaped the attack confirmed the killings to The PUNCH in Jos on Wednesday.
Bature said “On Tuesday, we did not sleep owing to an attack on our community by gunmen. It was by the Grace of God that I was not killed. Many of our people have already retired to their beds when some persons carrying guns entered the community and started shooting around 9:30 pm. Many people who tried to run were shot. Only this morning, I learnt that nine of the villagers were killed by the gunmen who also set several houses ablaze.”
The spokesman for the Military Taskforce in charge of maintaining peace in the state, Captain Oya James, also confirmed the attack but did not give a precise casualty figure.
According to him, the timely intervention by security operatives deployed to the community during the attack saved the situation.
James said, “It was around 11 pm on Tuesday that somebody alerted us of an ongoing attack in a community along Bokkos road. We quickly deployed our men and the intervention was very helpful in stopping the attackers in their mission.
When asked to confirm the casualty figure recorded in the community during the attack, the military spokesman responded, “Those killed were not up nine. I will get back to you to give you the actual figure but the situation is calm now.”
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