Plateau: Gunmen kill five family members, one other

GUNMEN suspected to be Fulani herdsmen
on Sunday night shot dead five members of
a family in Kungte village, Kanadap, in the
Kuru District of Jos South Local Government
Area of Plateau State.
The victims were identified as Peter Dung;
his wife; and three children.
The gunmen also killed another person
whose identity was yet to be determined as
at the time of this report.
Plateau State Commissioner for Information
and Communication, Mr. Yiljap Abraham,
who confirmed the killings, described the
incident as "inhuman and utter display of
insensitivity to the sanctity of lives."
Spokesperson of the Plateau State Police
Command, DSP Felicia Anselm, also
confirmed the incident.
Anselm said the police had been working
round the clock to apprehend the killers. She
said no suspect had been arrested in
connection with the incident, adding that
the remains of the victims had been
deposited in the mortuary.
Reacting on behalf of the state government,
Abraham, in a statement, said, "The
unprovoked killing of six members of two
families in their home in Kungte village,
Kanadap (near Marraraban Jama'a) in Kuru
District of Jos South Local Government Area
by gunmen on Sunday, September, 1, 2013,
is an evil and wicked act that should be
condemned by all members of society.
"The killing is also a display of cowardice by
the perpetrators who under the cover of
darkness deliberately chose to visit violence
on vulnerable members of society, women
and children, to achieve clearly devilish
designs.
"Such an attack, coming at a time when the
state has been mostly peaceful for quite
some time appears a desperate attempt to
reverse the gains of our hard-earned efforts
in breaking down the barriers of ethnic and
religious intolerance and thereby rebuilding
the bridges of communal consensus.
"Such intentions will fail because Plateau
people have made up their minds to live in
peace with one another and, together with
the state government and security agencies,
they will frustrate every attempt aimed at
taking the state back to the days of
bloodshed and gloom. The current level of
peace in the state is for consolidation, not
evaporation"
The Sunday killing occurred less than a
fortnight after 10 people were killed in
similar fashion in Foron district of Barakin
Ladi thus raising fears of resurgence of
killings in Plateau after months of peace.
The Kungte murder also came barely 24
hours after the redeployment of the
Commander of the Special Task Force, Maj.
Gen. Henry Ayoola.
Our correspondent learnt that the attackers
invaded the home of their victims between
the hours of 8pm and 9pm on Sunday when
the family members had finished dinner and
were preparing to go to bed. The sixth
person was killed as the gunmen were
retreating.