11 killed as gunmen attack 2 communities

No fewer than 18 persons including a pregnant woman have lost their lives in two tragedies that hit Edo and Plateau states between Sunday and yesterday. At least, 50 houses were swept away following a downpour in Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State.In the Plateau incident ,11 people, among them 45 years old woman and her son were killed yesterday by unknown gunmen at Zamadede in Pil-Gani District in Langtan North council area.

The gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, arrived in the affected community, ransacked the houses and shot the occupants indiscriminately, leaving behind 11 corpses including that of the pregnant woman, and a young boy who was killed with the mother on the same spot.

Some of the houses were also set ablaze by the assailants. An eyewitness, who lost two relations, Mrs Baby Hosea, said on phone that some of the victims were killed in their sleep.

The member representing Langtan North and South in the House of Representatives, Beni Lar, expressed concern over the attack, saying it was a deliberate act to deny them the peace they have begun to enjoy recently.

The lawmaker, who was speaking from her family’s residence in Jos, said the attack had shaken the very foundation of peace. She described the Zamadede community as peace-loving and hardworking farmers who produce enough foodstuff for their two local government areas.

She lamented how some people could be so cruel to take the lives of innocent citizens, particularly when the Federal Government through the National Conference is trying to find a lasting solution to farmers/herdsmen clashes.

The lawmaker appealled to her constituents to remain law-abiding and not to take laws into their hands.

The police command’s spokesman, DSP Abu Emmanuel, said security agents are yet to obtain details and would get back to journalists.

Meanwhile, seven people have been killed while over 50 houses were swept away following torrential rains in Igarra. Two of the victims, a young girl and a pastor, were travelling to Igarra from Auchi in a commercial vehicle with other passengers when their vehicle broke down in Egbigere, about five minutes drive to their destination.

They were said to have joined in pushing the vehicle when the flood swept them off the road into a nearby stream where the two died. Their corpses were discovered yesterday morning. Another victim, a middle-aged man in Utua area of the community, was said to have visited a friend when the building collapsed on him, His body was also recovered from the debris yesterday.

The rain which began around 11am on Sunday also led to serious flooding and destruction of properties, including parts of the fence of the local government secretariat. Reacting to the disaster, the traditional ruler, Oba Adeche Saiki, Otaru of Igarra, said the community is devastated and called on government agencies and good-spirited individuals and organisations to assist the victims.

The traditional ruler, who spoke through the Secretary, Otaru-in-Council, Elder Folorunsho Dania, said, “we are shocked at the level of damage. Many houses have collapsed and some totally unhabitable as their structures have failed. We lost four persons one of them an undergraduate, who was coming home from school.

“As we speak, the Otaru is in a meeting deliberating on the matter, but we want the urgent assistance of both the local and state governments because many people are homeless now. For the dead, some of them have been buried today, the families need the support to continue their lives.

“The Otaru is appealing passionately to both the local, state and the federal governments through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to come to our aid.”