Plateau Bleeds Again: Over 40 Persons Killed, Dozens Injured, Houses Razed As Gunmen Attack Zike Kimakpa Community

According to intelligence sources who spoke to Zagazola Makama, the attackers stormed the quiet village around 2:45 a.m., opening fire on residents and setting parts of the community into chaos. The brutal assault left several homes destroyed and families displaced.plunged the once peaceful village into a state of mourning and shock. Residents recounted harrowing scenes of armed assailants storming the area under the cover of darkness, opening fire indiscriminately and torching homes in a calculated strike.

Residents immediately alerted security agencies, prompting a swift response from a combined team of troops from the Nigerian Army, led by the Sector Commander, alongside personnel from the Nigeria Police Force and the Police Mobile Force stationed in Miango.
As of press time, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and investigations are ongoing. Community leaders have called on the government to bolster security presence and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Eyewitnesses told Leadership that the attackers moved swiftly, setting fire to no fewer than 30 houses, leaving countless families displaced and properties destroyed. “They came in shooting, and everywhere was chaos,” one local source said.

Victims and Casualties

Danjuma Dickson Auta, Secretary General of the Irigwe Development Association (IDA), confirmed the incident in a telephone interview. He said that over 45 corpses had already been recovered, with the number of casualties expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue. “It was clearly a coordinated and premeditated attack,” Auta emphasized, pointing to the scale and intensity of the violence.
: Government Reaction and Condemnation

The Plateau State Government has reacted with outrage and sorrow, condemning the attack as “unprovoked and horrific.” The state’s Commissioner for Information and Communication, Hon. Joyce Ramnap, lamented the reoccurring violence, calling it “one too many” for the people of the region.

“It is tragic that just days after innocent lives were lost in Bokkos Local Government, we are again mourning in Bassa,” she said. Ramnap suggested that the attack was aimed at derailing the fragile peace that the state has been trying to restore under the leadership of Governor Caleb Mutfwang.

She urged residents to remain calm and avoid retaliatory actions, assuring the public that the state government is working closely with security agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice