Gunmen suspected to be terrorists have reportedly invaded Shere village in the Jos East Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The attack, which was reportedly going on as of Sunday morning, came barely one week after similar attacks by jihadists. The jihadists attacked up to 15 communities, killed about 200 people, and burned 221 houses in the two council areas of Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi in the state.
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At least two villagers were murdered, while one of the attackers was also killed in the fresh attack.
A hunter living in the village was reported to have killed one of the assailants when he engaged the terrorists, who were wielding AK-47 rifles and heavy weapons.
A source told SaharaReporters on Sunday morning that a combined security team made up of soldiers, police, the civil defence corps, and many Special Forces were currently engaging the assailants in a shoot-out.
The police have confirmed the incident but said that it was a case of suspected kidnapping.
The Command’s spokesman, DSP Alfred Alabo, who confirmed the incident to SaharaReporters on the telephone on Sunday, said, “It was a case of attempted kidnapping.”
He, however, regretted that the assailants killed two of their victims, and one of them was equally neutralised.
He said, “They (assailants) attempted to kidnap, and having been repelled by our policemen, they killed two of the victims and ran away. But I think one of them was gunned down by our men. An investigation is still ongoing.
“So, it is not a case of attack; it is a case of suspected kidnapping, which was repelled, but it was unfortunate that they killed two persons while we also killed one of them, and the rest are still being pursued by our men.”
Regarding the recent attacks in Plateau, the police authorities in the state later confirmed the attacks, adding that no fewer than 86 people had been killed and 221 houses completely burned down during the attack by the gunmen.
The command’s spokesman, Alfred Alabo, explained in a statement that the attacks were carried out by the assailants in 15 communities in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi local government areas of the state.
There have been reactions from across the world, with the United Nations asking the Nigerian government to ensure accountability and bring the attackers to justice.
Similarly, the United States Mission in Nigeria and the French Diplomacy condemned, in strongest terms, the attacks and killings in Plateau.
The US Mission in Nigeria, in a short condolence message on X (formerly Twitter), described the incident, which occurred on Christmas Eve and some other days, as tragic, saying that those responsible for the attacks and killings must be held accountable.
The French Diplomacy, in a condolence message released through the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, called for the identification and prosecution of the attackers and assured the Nigerian government of its full support.
Earlier in December, respected American experts, including former federal legislators, in the field of religious freedom lamented the dire state of religious freedom in Nigeria.
On Tuesday, December 12, through Christopher Smith (Republican Party), a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District, they called for the West African country to be designated as a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
They requested that the US Congress ask the State Department to return Nigeria to the list of countries of particular concern regarding religious freedom.
“Their stark appraisal of the situation, and the immediate threat to the lives of thousands of Nigerians, merits immediate action by the Biden Administration,” Smith stated in his address to the House Speaker, according to a legislative document obtained by SaharaReporters.
The experts including former members of Congress in their letter addressed to members of the US Congress, said 90 percent of Christians killed for their faith worldwide in 2022 were murdered in Nigeria, with over 5,000 killed in that year.