A fresh attack by gunmen in the Wereng community, Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, has left four people dead including a former acting village head, identified as Chungyang Mwadkwon.
Eyewitnesses said that the gunmen wearing security uniforms took the village by storm on Monday night, around 9pm and shot at their victims.
A villager who gave her name as Grace Choji said, “At first, we thought that the gunmen were vigilante members because of the way they dressed and passed. But suddenly, they started shooting at everyone in sight, and that when we knew that the village is under attack.
Senator representing Plateau North in the National Assembly, Istifanus Gyang, told our Correspondent in Jos on Tuesday that four villagers were killed during the shooting.
The Senator who spoke through his aide, Musa Ashoms said, “My people are just being killed for no reason. I just received information about a fresh attack and the killing of our people in the Wereng community last night (Monday).
“They were four people that were shot dead including a former acting village head in the community. Many people sustained varying degrees of injuries and have been rushed to the hospital.”
Ashoms who described the killings as barbaric lamented that it was unfortunate that the incident was allowed to occur despite the earlier alarm raised by the Senator and other stakeholders calling on the government and the security agencies to protect the citizens.
He added, “Riyom is one of the six LGAs within Plateau North senatorial district that has consistently been under attack.
“And the Senator representing the zone, Senator Istifanus Gyang, has on several occasions drawn the attention of the government and the security agencies to do something and stop these killings. But what he gets in return is an attempt to blackmail him for speaking against the killings by some people who do not want the situation to come to end. But how can innocent people continue to be killed in their homes without anything done to stop the perpetrators?”
Spokesman for the State Police Command, Ubah Ogaba, did not pick his calls when contacted over the incident.
We condemn in the strongest ways possible the slaughter of our Ppl especially the children!!