Suspected men of the dreaded Boko Haram sect have struck in the early hours of Wednesday , attacking Gako and Tanjol communities in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State. At least six people have lost their lives as two churches were also burnt in the attack which reportedly took place at about 1:00 a.m. According to reports from Premium Times, residents of the area have said, apart from the six civilians killed, five uniformed security officials, believed to be members of the Special Task Force, STF, were also murdered. The police in the state, however stated that only six civilians were killed while five others were injured.
“On June 11 at about 1 a.m., unknown gunmen invaded two villages of Gako and Tanjol, shooting sporadically and in the process killing 6 persons, and injuring 5 others,” the Plateau Police Command spokesperson, Dominic Esin, told Premium Times in his office. “The injured persons where rushed to the Vom Christian Hospital,” he added. Mr. Esin, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, also said “two churches were burnt by the attackers.” He, however, said security officials have been deployed to the area and normalcy has been restored.
“Normalcy has been restored in the attacked areas and members of the public are advised to go about their lawful business and report any unscrupulous elements to the security agencies,” he said. “Investigation is ongoing and manhunt for the felons has intensified.” Efforts to confirm the death of the five STF members from the force were unsuccessful. The spokes person of the STF, Ikedichi Iweha, in a telephone interview promised to call back for details; but could no longer be reached on his phone A resident said while six civilians and five soldiers on duty in the area were killed, the attackers also burnt two churches and several residential homes. The residents of the two villages have since moved out of the area for fear of further attacks. Premium Times had reported the killing of a youth leader of Shonong Village, also in Riyom on Monday by yet to be identified gunmen. Thousands of people have been killed in Plateau in recent years in ethno-religious violence. The state also in the past month witnessed a series of bomb explosions that killed about 200 people.
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