At least 25 people have been killed in an attack by suspected herdsmen on the Kawel community in the Mushere District of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State. The assault, which struck the rural community in the early hours of Monday, has been confirmed by local government authorities, who said residents came under gunfire during the raid.
The chairman of the Bokkos Local Government Area, Samuel Amalu, gave an account of the attack in a telephone interview with a Channels Television correspondent. He said the assailants stormed the community at about 12 a.m. on Monday and opened fire on residents as they moved through the area, leaving no fewer than 25 people dead.
According to the council chairman, the violence was not confined to residential areas. The attackers also invaded a primary health care centre in the community, where four people were killed during the assault, adding to the toll among those caught up in the raid.
A youth leader in the community, identified simply as Tula, offered a higher casualty figure. He told Channels Television that as many as 30 people may have been killed in the attack, a number that exceeds the count given by the local government authorities.
The differing accounts left the exact death toll unclear in the immediate aftermath of the violence. The figure from the local government put the number of dead at no fewer than 25, while the community youth leader said the toll could be as high as 30, underscoring the difficulty of establishing a precise count so soon after the attack.
As of the time of the report, the police had yet to comment on the attack. No official statement had been issued by security agencies on the assault on the Kawel community or on any measures being taken in its wake, leaving residents and the local authorities awaiting an official response.