Unknown gunmen suspected to be herdsmen have attacked men of Sector Five of the Special Task Force, Operation Save Haven (OPSH).
The gunmen during the attack killed two soldiers and injured one at
X-Land of Barkin Ladi Local Government area of Plateau State.
An eyewitness and resident of the area, who preferred anonymity, told
the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the incident occurred on Sunday.
According to him, soldiers who were angered by the incident gave the
community two days to provide their attackers, and on Tuesday allegedly
raided the area and burnt down scores of houses.
The houses burnt belonged to the Fulani settlers in the community. The army also made some arrests during the raid.
“On Sunday, gunmen attacked soldiers of the sector five, killed two
personnel and ran into the houses of Fulani settlers living here in
X-Land.
“Soldiers came and had a meeting with the Fulanis and told them to
provide the culprits, but they failed to, and yesterday (Tuesday)
soldiers came and raided the community.
“They burnt down many houses, over 100 and arrested some persons,” the eyewitness said.
However, efforts to reach the Spokesperson of the task force, Maj.
Ibrahim Shittu, on the matter was unsuccessful, as he replied the
several calls put across with a text message.
The text message reads: “I have seen your text, will get back to you on it, please”.
But ASP Obah Ogaba, the Public Relations Officer of the Plateau
Police Command, who confirmed the incident said, “It is true that gunmen
ambushed security personnel of sector five, opened fire on them, killed
two soldiers and injured one.
“The issue of burnt houses is not the key matter, but soldiers are
attacked and two were killed and this is the major concern, here” NAN
quoted him as saying.