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Gunmen killed no fewer than 30 persons, mostly children and women, during an attack in Kwahaslalek village, a community in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The incident reportedly happened in the early hours of Wednesday, January 24, 2023, while residents assembled at a compound of a community leader in the area to observe the curfew imposed on the LGA by the government.
It was gathered that the villagers resorted to seeking safety in the said compound following earlier unrest on Tuesday afternoon in Sabon-Gari and Mangu town.
However, the assailants surrounded the compound, killing all of them and destroying houses and property in the process.
Mark Haruna, a community leader in the area who confirmed the development to Punch Online, said the earlier incidents on Tuesday were a decoy for the late-night attack.
“What happened at Sabon Gari and Mangu town yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) was just a distraction so that the attention of the people will be shifted away from the villages.
“For the second time, my village Kwahaslalek (behind NYSC camp) came under attack by gunmen yesterday (Tuesday)night. They came at about 12:30 am and killed over 25 people, mostly women and children,” Haruna said.
For his part, the Chairman of the Mwaghavul Development Association, Joseph Gwankat, described the killing as callous.
“I couldn’t sleep last night as a result of what happened in Mangu town during the day yesterday. Now, I have just been told Kwahaslalek village was attacked last night and about 30 people were killed.
“From what I was told, the unrest in Mangu town yesterday created fears in many communities. Some people in the village went and evacuated their loved ones and assembled them in a place where they thought was safe.
“So in the night, the killers went to Kwahaslalek village where the people mostly women and children were assembled and killed all of them,” he said.
Following unrest in Sabon Gari and Mangu town on Tuesday, the state Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, imposed a 24-hour curfew on Mangu LGA.
Mutfwang said the decision became necessary following the deteriorating security situation in the area after several buildings, including churches and mosques, were burnt down during the unrest.
This development comes one month after attacks in communities in three local government areas of the state left close to 200 residents dead.
Gunmen had on Christmas Eve invaded Ndun, Ngyong, Murfet, Makundary, Tamiso, Chiang, Tahore, Gawarba, Dares, Meyenga, Darwat, and Butura Kampani villages in the Barkin Ladi, Mangu and Bokkos LGAs of Plateau, burning houses and shooting residents.