Armed border trespassers kill five in Plateau village

Central Nigeria: Five people including a female food vendor were Thursday killed in Nzharuvo village, 15miles west of Jos, the capital of Plateau State by gunmen suspected to be herders.

A group of AK-47 bearing men opened fire in a fast food joint, at about 10pm, killing all in sight, locals say.

A Government official, Mr. Tiga Chayi was shot at while driving by, but was not hit, it was gathered.

“They fired several rounds at me, bursting my tyre but I sped with my head down till I escaped,” Chayi, the Councilor representing Tahu Ward in Bassa Local Government’s Legislative arm.

Shortly after the attack, a truck carrying ten herders took off few meters away from the scene of the attack but was intercepted by vigilante.

“They said they were heading to Jos from Shendam (a Southern Plateau Local Government) but there is no road linking Jos and Shendam anywhere in this Local Government (Bassa),” said Nzharuvo community leader, Mr. Ishaya Musa.

Another group of about nine herders, Musa told Journalists, marched from the village, carrying firearms, towards the outskirts of the Bassa LGA.

“Our people, not noticing the firearms tried inquiring from a distance, who the passersby were, but were shot at,” he said.

The other ten arrested were unarmed, believed to have been hired mercenaries, who may have handed their weapons to the nine bush walkers after the operation.

Police who arrived the scene of attack 30mins later would need concrete evidences to charge the arrested suspects.

Without evidence, only confessional or witness statements might drive a case on the attack.

The only triable offense of the travelers at the moment would be flouting federal 8pm-6am curfew and State government ban on inter local government movement.

Those killed Miss Asabe Samuel, 43, Mr. Gideon Tunku, 67, Mr. Bala Adi Joro, 34, Mr. Audu Amadu, 40, and Mr. Shedrack Joshua, 25, all were buried in a mass grave on Friday.