*No fewer than 51 people have again been killed in fresh attack in Plateau State on Sunday night
*30 houses torched during the attack in Zike Kimakpa community, Bassa LGA
*State Govt, Amnesty International, others condemn latest wave of violence in Plateau, seek justice
*Over 100 people have been killed during attacks in Bokkos and Bassa LGAs within one week
By Golok Nanmwa, Jos
Over 51 people have been confirmed dead and many others injured following a brutal attack on Zike Kimakpa community in Kwall District of Irigwe Chiefdom, Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The incident, which occurred late Sunday night, left the affected community in grief and devastation also left several persons injured.
It was also gathered that some homes were razed down by the gunmen.
Sources from the community told our correspondent that gunmen entered the community and started shooting sporadically on Sunday night.
Danjuma Dickson Auta, the Secretary General of the Irigwe Development Association (IDA), who confirmed the attack in a telephone interview with Newsmen said over 45 bodies had so far been recovered and still counting.
According to him, the scale of the violence suggests a well-planned and coordinated assault on the community.
Meanwhile the Plateau state Government has condemned in strong terms another unprovoked attack by gunmen on Zike Kimakpa community of Kwall district Miango, Bassa local government council of the state.
The Commissioner of Information and Communication, Hon Joyce Ramnap, who spoke to our correspondent on phone said the attack is one too many and these series of attacks pose an existential threat to the lives and livelihoods of the peace-loving people of the state.
“It is sad that in less than two weeks after our people were killed in Bokkos local government, this sad incident is reoccurring in another community in Bassa local government.”, she lamented.
She described the attack as another attempt to puncture the peace that has gradually returned to the State.
She maintained that the attacks are provocative, but called on the peaceful people of the state particularly in the attacked community to remain calm and equally vigilant.
The Commissioner emphasised that the Mutfwang administration is determined to deal decisively with anybody or groups found culpable in attacking innocent persons in the state.
She advised against reprisals and urged security operatives to go after the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International has condemned the latest wave of violence in Plateau State, where gunmen killed at least 51 people in a late-night raid on Zikke village in Bassa Local Government Area.
The global human rights watchdog described the attack as horrific and pointed to grave security lapses that allowed the gunmen to carry out the massacre unchallenged.
According to Amnesty International Nigeria, the assailants also razed surrounding villages, looted homes, and destroyed everything in their path.
“Many of the victims of last night’s deadly attack that could not run — including children and the elderly — were slaughtered and left in pools of blood,” the group said via its official X handle on Sunday afternoon.
This attack comes just two weeks after another deadly incident in the same region that left 52 people dead. Amnesty International is now calling for urgent and transparent investigations to uncover why communities in Plateau continue to suffer repeated bloodshed with little accountability.
The organization emphasized the need for Nigerian authorities to address the security failures that have made rural communities increasingly vulnerable to such violence.
Bassa LGA has been one of the flashpoints of recurring violence in Plateau, often linked to communal tensions and resource-based conflicts.
Local residents say they have repeatedly raised concerns over the lack of proactive security measures in the area.
As of the time of filing this report, the Plateau State government and security agencies have yet to issue an official statement on the latest incident.
