…Rev father Oparaji whose church the dead attended wants Lalong to lift curfew so people can defend themselves
Yakubu Busari, Jos
Three persons have been killed by men suspected to be Fulani herders who invaded the Dong settlement in Jos North Local Government in the early hours of Friday.
An eyewitness who escaped the in the night, Mr Agwom Musa said those gunmen came to the are and ambushed the people in Dong village near Jos Wild Life Park
Musa says as “members of vigilante group, stationed to guard all the entry point of the village, myself and three others, Yakubu Ando, Abari Ando and Jaffta were about eating food when we had gunshots in the air, close to place we were eating and we stood up only to see the gunmen instantly opened fire on us, killing three.
The survivor of the community onslaught told our medium that the three deceased persons were taken unawares while keeping watch during a youths’ meeting in the village.
According to him, the assailants that invaded them might have received information from someone amongst the villagers that security at the entry point was weak as a result of the meeting which most vigilante men on duty attended.”
Meanwhile, Governor Simon Lalong, has appealed for calm, following the attack last night by armed gunmen in Dong village of Jos North Local Government Area of the state, which culminated in the unfortunate loss of lives of three young men in the area.
The Governor, in a statement issued on Friday, noted that relative calm had been restored to the area following the deployment of adequate security and urged the people to remain law-abiding.
Governor Lalong sympathised with the bereaved and injured assuring that government is taking steps to alleviate their pains.
He calls on citizens to volunteer useful information to security agencies that will lead to the arrest of the criminals and also enjoins the people of the state to resist the temptation of spreading wild and unfounded rumours that tend to aggravate the situation.
He also said that security agencies have been directed to do everything possible to smoke out the perpetrators of the crime from their hideouts in order to end the repeated orgy of violence in the state.
Condemning the attack on his ancestral home the House of Assembly Speaker, Peter Ajang Azi said he had just returned from an assignment to find this killing as an underserved welcome.
He explained that the death of innocent youths remains a serious “concern to the entire Dong community where suspected killing gangs terrorise with dangerous weapons, killing and maiming future leaders and the vanguard of tomorrow.
He lamented that “over 3,000 people have been displaced as a result of herders coming to launched attack on citizens the area .
Also, the Management Committee Chairman of Jos North Local Government Council led by Philip Izam Arin has commended the security for their quick response to distress calls to safe the situation .
He said as council the mobilised support in collaboration with state government to establish security outpost which is lacking from Dong district of Jos north.
Arin condemned the killings as one of the unfortunate incident but disclose the security efforts was a boost to halt increase in the mayhem and ensure that more persons and properties were not destroyed .
Dong women in a demonstration have urged that federal government to deploy more security to the area as the numbers of soldiers present there were too small to check the gunmen.
Meanwhile, Rev. Father Anthony Oparaji has condemned the attack and the death of the three men who were all members of St Agustin parish in Dong.
He said: “I am calling on the federal government to declare Fulani’s herdsmen as belonging to a terrorist organisation because of the impunity going as the country is now divided along religious worship.
He called on Governor Simon Bako Lalong to lift the Dust till Dawn curfew imposed on Dong to enable the men and youths of the community to guard themselves with the support from STF and police as the curfew imposed did not stop the herdsmen from attacking the community.
He also calling on the Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba to use his authority ast a father to all the traditional rulers to prevail on the Fulani leaders to talk to their people
