Tears flowed freely when the Zike community of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State laid to rest the 51 victims of the recent heinous attack in the area.
The victims were gunned down early Monday when the perpetrators stormed the village and started shooting sporadically, leading to scores of deaths in what has become a recurring incident in the state.
At the solemn event, community members recalled how the incident happened, describing it as “disheartening”.
“I can tell you the situation is very disheartening,” a community leader, Davidson Malison, said, adding that “we are still searching for more corpses.”
“Something needs to be done to end this,” Davidson said.
For a women leader, Mary Dikwa, the situation has gone out of hand.
“They have been killing us in this community, and several times, they will come and attack us,” the Irigwe women leader said.
“They have been coming to kill us every time. We are tired of this killing. Enough is enough. Our children are dying; our husbands are dying. These herdsmen have razed down our crops,” she added.
Monday’s carnage came despite reassurances from government authorities and less than two weeks after a similar dastardly killing left over 50 people dead and several others nursing injuries.
*We failed you, Gov Mutfwang tells grieving communities
Meanwhile, Governor Caleb Mutfwang has apologised to the people of Bassa LGA for the failure of government and security agencies to protect lives and properties.
The governor said this yesterday at the palace of the Paramount Ruler in Miango.
“I will tell you the truth: I have been crying since yesterday because I had trusted God that all the arrangements were put in place, that this will not happen again. We have made investments in security,” he said.
“But like all human arrangements, sometimes they fail. I want to admit that we failed you on Sunday night into Monday morning. Please, forgive me.”
He urged the people not to relent in their efforts to secure their communities and ensure that they complement security agencies’ efforts by providing vital information for intelligence gathering and exposing criminals’ antics.
Mutfwang, in the company of security chiefs and members of the state executive council, was in the Zikke community to commiserate with the people on the death of over fifty persons killed in Monday’s attacks.
The Paramount Ruler of Irigwe land, Ronku Aka, who is the Brangwe of Irigwe, urged the government to help the communities by providing social amenities in the area.
The governor and the entourage also went to see some of the families who lost their loved ones in the attack. The victims have been buried just as members of the community demanded action to stem the rising wave of insecurity in the state.
