Gunmen have killed 13 people, including three pregnant women, in a night attack on Ngbra Zongo community in Kwall District, Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
This was as troops of Operation ENDURING PEACE uncovered illegal arms manufacturing factories in a separate operation within the state.
The attack, which occurred in the early hours of Friday, also left several others injured while many residents fled into nearby bushes for safety.
A community leader, Lawrence Zongo, confirmed the killings to Saturday PUNCH in Jos, describing the incident as tragic.
“It happened last night. Some people just came and killed innocent villagers. About 13 of them. Three of the victims are pregnant women,” he said.
Zongo added that the community had previously suffered similar attacks, including one that led to the killing of a pastor and several others.
Another resident, Philip Alanga, said the attackers stormed the village around midnight, shooting sporadically and attacking residents with machetes and other dangerous weapons.
“They came into the community around midnight and started shooting and hacking people to death. They moved from one house to another attacking innocent people,” he said.
The Secretary General of the Irigwe Development Association, Danjuma Auta, described the attack as “tragic and condemnable,” lamenting the recurring violence in Bassa and other parts of the s tate.
He called on security agencies to intensify efforts to protect vulnerable rural communities and ensure those responsible are arrested and prosecuted.
Meanwhile, efforts to reach the state Police Command spokesman, SP Alfred Alabo, were unsuccessful at press time.
In a separate development, troops of the Quick Response Force under Operation Enduring Peace uncovered two illegal arms manufacturing factories in Vom, Jos South Local Government Area, and arrested five suspects.
The Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force, Chinonso Oteh, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Jos.
Oteh said the operation, carried out on Thursday, followed intensified intelligence gathering and surveillance aimed at disrupting the supply chain of illicit firearms.
“During the precision operation, troops arrested five suspects caught in the act of fabricating lethal weapons,” he said.
He added that a search of the facilities led to the recovery of weapons and equipment, including fabricated AK-47 rifles, a locally made pistol, empty magazines, skeletal rifle parts and various industrial tools used in weapon production.
According to him, the suspects and recovered items are currently in custody for further investigation and exploitation.
He said troops were also consolidating ongoing covert operations to mop up remaining arms and ammunition in circulation.
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