Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos, Uja Emmanuel , Makurdiand AbdulGafar Alabelewe, KadunaTHE Plateau killings took place at Kwatas, a village in Bokkos Local Government Area.The attack which happened about 8.30pm on Sunday came a few weeks after the invasion of Kulben in Mangu Local Government Area that led to the death of 15 people.A vigilante group in Kwatas, according to a source, aided the arrest of seven persons who participated in the Kulben attack.A witness, Bukus Dogo, said he counted 10 dead bodies and many injured persons when the attackers left the village.It was learnt that the residents of Kwatas recieved information and threats of reprisal from a group whose identity could not be ascertained .The information consequently necessitated a series of security meetings at the instance of the Chairman of Bokkos council, Yusuf Machen.Spokesman, Gabriel Ubah, said: On the 26/01/2020 at about 2030hrs, the Plateau State Command received an information that at about 1930hrs, unknown gun men suspected to be herdsmen, attacked Kwatas village, Bokkos District, Bokkos LGA where 13 persons lost their lives while five were critically injured and receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Bokkos. Immediately the command received the information, the Commissioner of Police, Isaac Akinmoyede, swung into action by deploying detectives, conventional policemen and PMF personnel to the are,a with the directive to restore peace and effect arrest of the perpetrators of that dastardly act.But, a few hours after , Ubah disclosed that two of the wounded persons receiving treatment at the Cottage Hospital, Bokkos, died in the afternoon, bringing the number of casualties to 15.Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have attacked vehicles conveying travellers after they alighted from a train at the Rigasa station.Read Also:Again, gunmen kills 14 in PlateauThe Nation gathered that the incident happened when the passengers who arrived from Abuja at about 8:00pm, were picked by their family driver who headed for the Rigasa-Afaka link road.But, a 60 year old woman, who was one of the victims, was later abandoned at a river bank due to her inability to trek.It was gathered that the woman, a diabetic patient , had been discharged from an hospital in Abuja.However, the kidnappers were said to have demanded N20 million ransom before they could release the remaining two victims.A source close to the family said: As of this(yesterday) morning, they called and demanded N20 million and threatened that, if the family failed to bring the money on time, they would take the victims to Zamfara State.Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom said on Monday that herdsmen shot at him while he was in his farm located along MakurdiNaka Road in Makurdi..I went my farm last week and the herdsmen who were coming back to Benue State in their numbers shot at meOrtom told reporters during an interactive session. He did not give further details.He explained that it took the intervention of men of Operation Whirl Stroke who came to his rescue before the herdsmen took to their heels.The governor reiterated his call for the arrest and prosecution of some Meyitta Allah leaders for instigating violence against farmers in his state.Ortom expressed concern that herdsmen were still carrying sophisticated weapons more than security agencies while farmers were arrested for holding cutlasses in their farms .He said Nigeria was no longer in the 50s and 60s when cattle were grazing without any form of hindrance. Anti open grazing prohibition law is still in force and anyone who wants to do business of animal husbandry must embrace ranching,Ortom said.He restated that the states ranching law was not against anyone, but was in the interest of both farmers and herdsmen .
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