Unidentified gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed at least three family members who were harvesting crops on their farm in Miango district of the Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Speaking to reporters, residents of the community revealed that two other persons sustained severe injuries due to machete cuts and are receiving medical treatment in Jos, the state capital.
DAILY POST reports that the attack coincided with the visit of members of the fact-finding committee on incessant attacks in the community to engage leaders and stakeholders, including security agencies, at the local government council secretariat.
The chairman of the committee and former commander of Operation Safe Haven, Major General Nicholas Rogers (retd), expressed dismay at the attack even with the presence of the members of the panel set up to find lasting solution to the incessant attacks.
The retired Army General, who described the incident as heartbreaking, called on Irigwe youths not to resort to self-help or reprisal attacks, stressing that the government is determined to find a solution and ensure enduring peace in the area.
The deceased have since been buried, while security agents have intensified efforts to apprehend the killers.
The attack took place barely a week after no fewer than 13 persons, mostly children and the elderly, were killed and houses burnt in Juwan and Manja communities in the Bokkos and Mangu local government areas of the state by suspected herdsmen.
The deadly attack on Juwan in the Tangur District of the Bokkos Local Government Area left 10 persons dead and several others with serious injuries.
Three persons were reportedly killed in Manja, Chafem Chiefdom of Mangu Local Government Area of the state.
