7 killed, 10 injured as Fulanis invade Plateau

NO fewer than seven people were brutally killed while 10 others sustained injuries in an early morning attack by people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State on Thursday.Nigerian Tribune gathered that the assailants, in their large number, stormed Rinyam-Tahoss village in the local government area in the early hours of Thursday, while the people were still in bed.It was learnt that the suspected Fulani herdsmen, who laid ambush and positioned themselves at various strategic parts of the village, fired several volleys of gunshots into the air to herald their arrival in the village.A source close to the local government revealed that the marauders shot the seven people who were trying to escape into the nearby bush while those who sustained injuries were hacked down with cutlasses.Nigerian Tribune learnt that after two hours of uninterrupted assault, the assailants bolted away before the arrival of men of the Special Task Force who arrived one hour after the suspected Fulani herdsmen had disappeared.The seven people killed were four adults and three children while those who sustained injuries are currently at the Vom Christian Hospital, receiving treatment.The entire Riyom Local Government Area has been under severe attack by people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen and close to 80 people have been killed in the past one month in various villages within the council area.Some journalists also escaped death narrowly at Kak village in the council area recently, when a group of armed Fulani herdsmen on the prowl in the council, opened fire on their convoyConfirming the incident, the member representing Riyom constituency in the state House of Assembly, Honourable Daniel Dem, condemned the attack and described it as unfortunate and called on the government to save his people from total annihilation.'The attack has become a daily occurrence. Today, alone, seven people were shot dead and several others are receiving treatment from gunshots and matchete cuts at the Vom Christian Hospital. I want to appeal to my people to remain calm and not to take laws into their own hands, as appropriate measures are being taken to bring to an end the senseless killings,' he said.The legislator lamented that despite the fact that the local government is under a state of emergency, people are being killed on a daily basis and called on the security personnel deployed in the area to be proactive and bring the culprits to book.
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