At least 20 people were on Monday night, killed by gunmen suspected to be Fulani militias who invaded the Bindi community in Ta-Hoss district of Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, while an unspecified number were injured as residents fled the community for safety.
In a statement signed by Gideon Manjal and Gadu Daniel Dong, the Chairman and Publicity Secretary of the Coalition for the Protection of Democracy (COPDEM), the assailants stormed the village at about 11pm and carried out a house to house attack, killing innocent people including women, children and the aged who could not manage to escape.
Survivors who narrated their experience, say the attackers who were identified by survivors as Fulani extremists, were heavily armed with sophisticated weapons and made it clear that their mission was to exterminate the people and take over their land.
“The attackers who were properly identified as Fulani extremists by survivors, stormed the Bindi community in Ta-Hoss district of Riyom Local Government Area on Monday night and in their regular pattern of attack which is consistent with several previous attacks across Riyom and other parts of Plateau, systematically slaughtered over 20 innocent people including women, children and old people. Homes were burned, families displaced, and trauma deepened,” the statement said.
“It must be clearly stated that these attackers are not unknown. Their hideouts and base settlements in nearby enclaves have been repeatedly identified and reported by community leaders and local authorities. Yet, year after year, these known threats continue to strike with impunity, often unchallenged,” it added.
