Over the weekend, the Pukah community in Mangu Local Council, Plateau State, saw the deaths of no less than eleven people.
Eight people were killed on Friday by unidentified gunmen who may have been Fulani militia members. The constant attacks on the populace were deemed disrespectful by the inhabitants.
The Indians are said to have found three more bodies yesterday while burying the earlier ones.
Johnson Musa, a villager who fled to Jos yesterday in search of protection, claimed he saw the gunmen arrive in large numbers and start killing people without cause.
The Fulani herdsmen, whose ties with the indigenous have not been friendly recently, were the subject of suspicion among the residents.
Along with stealing one Bajaj motorcycle and injuring other persons, the attackers also took 120 sheep.
In an interview with The Guardian, Jerry Datim, the coordinator of Human Rights Watch and Rescue Operations in the Plateau, blamed the attack on the Fulani.
He commended Maj-Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Nigerian Army’s 3 Division in Jos, for his partial success in lowering crime rates in the region.
Datim urged people to speak up if they were unhappy about the senseless deaths.
Capt. Oya James, the Military Media Information Officer of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), was not available for comment.
