Plateau : 7 Suspects are detained by Police in deadly village attacks

Seven suspects were detained, according to a statement from the Nigerian police on Friday, in connection with the slaughter of scores of villagers in central Plateau state.

Alfred Alabo, a spokesman for the state police, reported that security personnel had brought peace back to the affected Kubwat and Fungzai villages in the far-flung Mangu area. He promised that police would keep an eye on the area in an effort to stop any further assaults.

According to witnesses, gunmen entered Mangu early on Tuesday and started shooting at the residents. Prior to the arrival of security troops, they also destroyed a lot of residences.

More than 100 individuals were reportedly slaughtered, and locals accused ethnic Fulani militias for the carnage.

Alabo claimed that tensions in the region had been high even before the attacks as a result of conflicts between farmers and herders over grazing land.

He admitted he wasn’t certain of the death toll in a phone interview with VOA.

He described the area as “riddled with crisis.” “You can’t just give numbers and jump to conclusions. At the moment, they told me about over 30 people, so we’ll learn more.

Thousands of individuals who fled their houses to avoid the violence, according to the locals, have not yet returned to the villages.

Alabo, though, said that things had been brought under control. “We have so far been able to calm the situation in that general area,” he declared. But we continue to watch. Operation Safe Haven has already taken some suspects into custody.

Nigeria’s central region has been plagued by intercommunal conflicts over limited grazing area and water resources for decades. The states mainly affected by the disputes are Nasarawa, Plateau, and Benue.

Amnesty International, a rights organization, denounced the killings on Thursday and demanded justice. Police have vowed to look into the matter further.

A citizen of Plateau state who survived the assault and requested anonymity for security reasons claimed that security personnel came too late.

It was something that never crossed my mind to occur, he continued. “Numerous persons died. What I witnessed there was a great tragedy. There were about 100 fatalities, numerous displaced individuals, and some hospitalized persons.

Nigerian officials are battling to contain a wave of violence that has spread throughout the nation.

Police revealed on Tuesday that they were looking into a shooting last week that left 15 people dead in an agricultural hamlet in Nasarawa state. According to the police, those murders appeared to be reprisals for the days previous attack that claimed the life of a Fulani herder.