27 'hacked to death' in Nigeria's Plateau State
Local officials suggested the killings bear the imprimatur of Boko Haram agents
By Rafiu Ajakaye
ABUJA
Some 27 people were killed last Thursday when suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked the Riyom local council area of Nigeria's north-central Plateau State.
"The gunmen who attacked Bichi district [in Riyom] killed no fewer than 27 people; these killings bear the imprimatur of Boko Haram agents," Local Government Secretary Alex Kundang told National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) officials touring a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
"The victims were hacked to death," he added.
Kundang noted that, in addition to those "murdered in cold blood," some 3,520 people had also been displaced from the area after fleeing the violence.
"We call on the [federal] government to help us tackle this violence," he said. "It's our hope that the government will really get to the roots of this violence and bring it to an end."
NEMA officials pledged government assistance for the displaced as they toured the IDP camps to gather statistics on the victims.
Plateau State has long been an epicenter of socioeconomic and political crises, encouraged by widespread poverty and distrust among the state's various ethno-religious groupings.
