14 Shot Dead, As Gunmen Raid Nasarawa, Adamawa

Unknown Gunmen

At least 14 persons have been confirmed dead in Nasarawa and Adamawa following attacks by gunmen in the two states.

The Nasarawa State Police Command confirmed the killing of eight persons by unidentified gunmen, who attacked Tse Yaji Village near Kadarko Town in the Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, North-central Nigeria on Sunday night, while six bodies riddled with bullets were found yesterday in Adamawa, northeast Nigeria.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP. Cornelius Ocholi, confirmed the killing while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia on Monday.

A similar attack occurred on March 8 in Kadarko, where nine persons were killed in the village market by suspected herdsmen.

The Nasarawa State correspondent of Daily Trust Newspapers, Mr. Hir Joseph, was almost killed during the attack on the market when a vehicle he boarded from Keffi on his way to Makurdi ran into an ambush mounted by the gunmen along the Lafia-Makurdi road.

According to Ocholi, the latest attack left a retired Army officer, Ajohol Adoonkor and seven others, including an indigene whose name could not be ascertained, dead.

He said that when the news of the attack reached the police, they had thought the attack was on Kadarko town and as such they mobilised to the area only for the attackers to invade Tse Yaji Village.

Ocholi said, however, that the Police was on top of the situation, putting up measures to forestall further attacks.

NAN reports that the area has been engulfed in incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen, which prompted both the Nasarawa and Benue State Governments to set up a 10-man peace committee in June 2011.

The committee has been working towards ensuring the restoration of lasting peace among various ethnic groups in the area.

In another incident, residents of Yelwa ward in Mubi town, Adamawa, northeast Nigeria, have fled the town after they discovered six dead bodies riddled with bullets Monday.

The residents said they heard gun shots at about 4 a.m. and when they woke up a few hours later, they saw the dead bodies lined up on the street.

It was gathered that some families gripped by fear have started fleeing the area to avoid falling victims of fresh attacks.

The Adamawa State Police Commissioner, Aderene Shinaba, confirmed the killings and urged residents not to panic.

He said the police have started investigating the incident.

Shinaba informed that the corpses have been deposited at the General Hospital, Mubi.

Unidentified gunmen had late Sunday ambushed and killed three Christians in a village in Jos, hours after a bomb attack on St. Finbarr’s Catholic Church left at least 11 persons dead.

Reprisal attacks have resulted in the death of more persons in Jos, the Plateau state capital, northcentral Nigeria.

Source: PM News