No fewer than 22 person were tragically killed yesterday Saturday, August 14, by unknown assailants along the Gada-Biyu – Rukuba road area of Jos, the Plateau state capital
It was reported that 50 of the travelers were moving in convoy when the terror scene happened and their buses were attacked, dragged out of their vehicle while being trapped in a gridlock and 22 were killed using knives, machetes, stones and other weapons while others were seriously injured.
The travelers were revealed to be mostly Fulani born and brought up in Ondo and Ekiti states. They were on the way back home after the annual Zikr (prayer session) organized by Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi to mark the commencement of Muharram, the new Islamic New Year.
ASP Ubah Gabriel, the spokesperson of the state’s Police Command confirmed the incident saying the victims were returning Ikare akoko, Ondo State when. 22 of them were killed and 14 were fatally injured.
He acknowledged that security personnels were immediately dispatched to the scene where 21 victims were rescued and six suspects arrested.
Reacting to the sad incident, President Muhammadu Buhari, through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, released a statement saying;
”The Presidency condemns the attack earlier Saturday on travellers from a religious event in Bauchi, passing through Jos, the Plateau State Capital and regrets the reported deaths of at least twenty-two persons with several others injured in that ambush on their travelling party.
It is widely known that Plateau State has been one of the states affected by herder-farmer clashes, which have, in a significant way, been curtailed following the intense peace-building efforts of the administration of Governor Simon Lalong.
However, to be clear, this is not an agriculturalist-on-pastoralist confrontation – but rather a direct, brazen and wickedly motivated attack on members of a community exercising their rights to travel freely and to follow the faith of their choosing.
With the evident preparedness of their attackers, it is clear this was a well-conceived and prearranged assault on a known target, location and religious persuasion of the travellers not an opportunist ambush.
The Presidency offers condolences to the families of the victims and continues to liaise closely with the local authorities – including security, the police, and governmental agencies.
These kinds of attacks on our country’s citizens are unacceptable, heinous, and stand in complete contradiction to the teachings of the great religions of our nation.
The Presidency stands steadfast with both Christians and Muslims at this time in condemnation of this latest attack and expects and insists that justice is swiftly – but fairly – delivered to the perpetrators.
“Make no mistake about it: in line with my commitment to protect all Nigerians, I have ordered our security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of this gruesome massacre of innocent travellers and bring them to justice,” President Buhari said.
As the facts of the sad incident continue to unfold, the Presidency commends the ongoing efforts by the Governors of Plateau, Bauchi, and Ondo; the Sultan of Sokoto His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar III and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi as well as a number of notable Christian and Muslim leaders as they intensify efforts to calm down the situation.”
