At least four persons have been confirmed dead after an attack by Fulani herdsmen at Renwienku village of Miango District in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau state.
Reports say that the victims who were all male, were slaughtered in the early hours of Monday morning.
The incident was confirmed by the President of Irigwe Development Association, Mr Robert Ashi Dodo.
Mr Dodo added that the assailants came to attack a second time when the villagers were on their way to bury their slain relatives.
However, following the timely intervention of security operatives, the villagers were able to bury the victims.
The Fulani community has denied any involvement in the incident, and accused their Irigwe neighbours of killing a herdsman, who was pasturing over the weekend.
The Miyetti Allah leader in the state, Nura Mohammad described the incident as unfortunate in spite of the ongoing peace efforts in the state.
The Plateau state Police command confirmed the unfortunate incident through its Public Relations Officer, Gabriel Ubah.
According to Ubah, the incident occurred at Kpachudu and Reweinku villages in Miango district which led to the death of four persons.
The PPRO said more personnel have been deployed to the areas to restore peace.
Ubah added that investigations have commenced to fish out perpetrators of the dastardly act.
The recent incidents are the latest in renewed cclashes in Plateau State. Last month, there was tension in the state after some travellers were killed, a development which prompted the Plateau government to impose a curfew on the state.
But critics say Governor Simon Lalong is not doing enough to tackle insecurity in the state.
“When I say enough has not been done, I mean, how many people, how many assailants – whether herdsman or gunmen, whether marauders or miscreants; how many have the state government arrested in the last six years?
“How many assailants have the state government prosecuted and even if they have not prosecuted, how many have they made public to say that we arrested A, B, C, D in X, Y, Z places; how many?” a former member of the House of Representatives, Bitrus Kaze said.
In the wake of the conflict, several states have evacuated their indigenes from the University of Jos (UNIJOS) due to the crisis that has also spread into the campus.
