So far, 106 people have been buried as a result of the attacks on Plateau State communities.
This is according to Dayabu Garga, Chairman of Plateau State’s Kanam Local Government Area, who provided an update on the renewed violence in some parts of the north-central state.
“I was present on Monday morning when we did mass burial of 106 killed, and we are still picking up dead bodies in the farmlands,” he told the media on Thursday.
He also stated that “more than 16 people have been hospitalised.”
According to him, the attacks have rendered hundreds of people homeless just as he explained that the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has increased.
“Displaced people are uncountable,” he said. “More than 5,000 people are IDPs on their own soil. The issue is so much devastating.”
The Kanam council boss, who called for more protection for the people, lamented the recent attacks.
“These people require at least protection. First and foremost, we need to have security outposts – either MOPOL or Army – because if we don’t stop who is going into the forests, definitely, there must be more attacks in the future,” Dayabu added.
While food items and other relief materials have been sent to the affected communities, he admitted that “it is definitely not enough”.
Kanam was not the only local government affected by Sunday’s attack. People were also killed in Wase Local Government Area.
The attack affected about 10 villages in Garga comprising Kukawa, Gyanbawu, Dungur, Kyaram, Yelwa, Dadda, Wanka, Shuwaka, Gwammadaji, and Dadin Kowa.
Bodies recovered during the attack were given a mass burial in a shallow grave.
In the wake of the attacks, Governor Simon Lalong mandated security operatives to dominate the affected areas and go after the fleeing terrorists and ensure they pay for their crimes.