Death Toll In Plateau Christmas Attack Hits 148

A wave of terror swept across the Plateau, leaving 148 people dead, according to Monday Kassa, the Chairman of Bokkos Local Government Area. He revealed this on Wednesday, when Vice President Kashim Shettima came to visit the scene of the carnage.

The death toll was a drastic increase from the army’s report of only 16 casualties on Sunday night, in a region that has been rife with religious and ethnic conflicts for years.

Kassa said that the attackers, who set fire to many houses and looted crops and properties, also slaughtered the residents mercilessly. President Bola Tinubu denounced the atrocity and ordered the security forces to track down the culprits.

He added that 38 communities fell victim to the assault on Sunday, the most violent incident in Plateau since May, when over 100 people lost their lives in clashes between farmers and herders.

The attackers, known as “bandits,” carried out “well-planned” raids in “at least 20 different communities” and burned down houses, Kassa had said.

In his address, the Vice President said that President Tinubu’s government is committed to ending the security crisis in Plateau and elsewhere in the country.

Shettima said that President Tinubu was deeply saddened by the savage act and promised the people that justice would be served and that the offenders would face the law.

He also instructed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to offer immediate assistance to those affected, especially those who were forced to leave their homes.

Hundreds of families are now residing in camps for internally displaced persons set up by the state government.