Plateau massacre: How 106 persons were killed, over 100 houses burnt in one night

MORE facts, yesterday, emerged about how 106 persons were killed by bandits, who attacked about 10 communities in Kanam and Wase Local Government Areas of Plateau State on Sunday.

This came as family members of abducted passengers aboard the AK-9 train bombed by terrorists along the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor on March 28, 2022, yesterday expressed readiness to negotiate with the terrorists to release their loved ones, if the government was not prepared to do so.

It was gathered that the bandits, who rode into the Plateau communities in over 70 motorcycles, each carrying three persons fully armed with sophisticated weapons, opened fire indiscriminately on men only, and left women unhurt.

A source told Vanguard that while some of the victims were shot fleeing into the bush, others were killed in their homes, including old and young men.

Plateau massacre: Killers went after men, gathered women under trees

“The bandits entered the communities, one after the other, shooting directly at men and boys only; and gathered the women and girls under the trees while the operation lasted.

“At the end of the operation, they asked the women to return to their burnt homes. There was also selective burning of homes because someone, who knew the communities was the one telling them what houses to set on fire.

“Although 106 persons killed in the attack have been given mass burial, many dead bodies are still being recovered in the bushes because the bandits pursued some people into the bushes,’’ the source said.

Deputy Speaker of Plateau State House of Assembly, Saleh Yipmong, who also confirmed this, said the military and other security agents arrived in the communities an hour after the killers had left.

He said even the villagers were surprised about the attack because the communities remain the safest in the state.