On Christmas Eve, 2023, a group of armed bandits killed over a hundred people in Plateau State, Nigeria. The killings took place across five separate attacks in Ruku, Hurum, Darwat, Mai Yanga Sabo and NTV villages in Gashish and Ropp districts of Barkin Ladi of local government in Plateau State.
The bandits also set houses and property on fire while looting farm produce and slaughtering the citizens.
“As many as 113 persons have been confirmed killed as Saturday hostilities persisted to early hours of Monday. Military gangs, locally called “bandits”, launched “well-coordinated” attacks in “not fewer than 20 different communities. We found more than 300 wounded people” who were transferred to hospitals in Bokkos, Jos and Barkin Ladi.” Monday Kassah, head of the local government in Bokkos, Plateau State, told AFP.
The current death toll marks a sharp rise from the number initially reported by the Nigerian military on Sunday, the 24th of December, 2023.
Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has condemned the violence as “barbaric, brutal, and unjustified.” He also said that measures will be taken by the government to protect citizens from attacks such as this.
Northwest and central Nigeria have been terrorised for years by masked armed bandits operating from bases deep in the forest, raiding villages to kill, loot, and kidnap residents for ransom.
