- The deceased persons were killed between December 2023 and February 2024, according to Amnesty International Nigeria
The wanton brutal killings occasioned by the perennial violent attacks by armed non-state actors on indigenous people in Nigeria’s middle belt State of Plateau have left 1,336 dead.
The deceased persons were killed between December 2023 and February 2024, according to Amnesty International Nigeria.
The organisation disclosed that the deaths were recorded in Mangu, Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi Local Government Areas of the state.
The Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, who made the disclosure, said 29,554 people are currently displaced in the three LGAs, within the period under review.
He spoke in Jos during a ‘Photo Exhibition on the Impact of Conflicts and Humanitarian Situations is some Communities of Plateau State Affected by Violent Attacks’.
According to him, the figures were drawn from a thorough finding conducted by his organisation in collaboration with key government agencies.
“Weeks after the deadly Christmas Eve attacks on Barkin-Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu, our research team visited some of the affected areas.
“We discovered that between December 2023 and February 2024, 1,336 people were killed, among which are 533 women, 263 children and 540 men.
“29,554 people are displaced from their homes, including 13, 093 children and 16,461 women,” he said.
Sanusi called on the government to investigate the incidents impartially and ensure justice for the victims and survivors, as well as their families.
He further called on the government to ensure that the perpetrators of the attacks were brought to justice through a fair trial.
“Displaced Persons must be provided with adequate humanitarian support and children’s education must be continued.
“We urge government to investigate security lapses that enabled gunmen to carry out these attacks and get away with it.
“Those with responsibility of protecting lives and property must be held to account and special attention be paid to how the conflict affects children,” he added.
Recall that the Plateau State Government had constituted a resettlement committee to work toward ensuring that all displaced persons in the state return to their ancestral homes
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