The people of Laake village in Kwali District, Bassa, Plateau State, were horror struck when some persons suspected to be herdsmen went on rampage Friday night and killed four school children in their sleep.
The attack came on the heels of a similar incident where five people were allegedly hacked to death by herdsmen in Bassa.The National President of Irigwe Development Association (IDA), Mr. Sunday Abdu, told journalists in Jos yesterday that the community had not got over the shock of that killing when this happened.
He said: “We are going to give the deceased a mass burial on Tuesday. The killings are becoming too much. We have been appealing to security operatives to be pro-active but to no avail. This is too much.”
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Plateau State Command, Assistant Superintendent (ASP) Mathias Terna Tyopev, said he would contact the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the area and get back to journalists.
However, the spokesman of the Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), Major Adam Umar, said he could not confirm or deny the incident, adding that efforts to reach the sector commander in charge of the area via phone were being hindered by poor network service.
One resident, who witnessed the attacks, Mr. Josiah Luka, said he has lost confidence in Nigeria’s security agencies. “Our security operatives have been made impotent. They are not pro-active at all. They will even be waiting for the defenseless civilians they are supposed to be guarding to give them information.
“And the worst they do is arrest our youth, who use sticks to defend themselves in the face of these unwarranted attacks. It is very unfortunate. The so-called Operation Safe Haven should pack and leave, if they cannot defend us. They are not helping matters at all. Instead they are compounding them.
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