Plateau Killings: Mourners take corpses of victims to assembly

Mourners from Yelwa Zangam have taken the corpses of their loved ones killed in Tuesday night attack to the Plateau State House of Assembly.

Yelwa Zangam in Jos North Local Government Area of the state was attacked by hoodlums who reportedly killed at least 35 people.

Members of the community cried to the assembly and urged it to liaise with other arms of government to tackle the menace.

Responding, the Speaker of the Assembly, Ayuba Abok, called for calm and restraint.

Mr Abok condoled with the families of the victims and appealed to them not to take laws into their hands, saying such an act would only aggravate the already bad situation.

“We are all affected by what is happening in Plateau, but please, calm down as the government is doing everything possible to end the killings.

“We are your representatives, we are going to follow up with relevant authorities to ensure that peace returns to the state,” he said.

The mourners later took the corpses to Government House, Jos.

NAN also reports that the news of the attack threw Jos into confusion as people scampered for safety.

The situation also resulted in serious traffic gridlock in the city as many people fled to their houses for safety.

The state government has also reinstated the 24-hour curfew earlier relaxed in Jos North Local Government Area following rising tension in the area.

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Governor Simon Lalong said the curfew will come into effect from 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

The governor noted that reports of skirmishes and rumours had made people close their shops or abandon their workplaces.

He said the curfew was a proactive decision taken to prevent the breakdown of law and order.

Mr Lalong urged the people of Jos North to cooperate with the government, adding that the security agencies had been instructed to enforce the curfew.

The governor also said a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew already in place in Jos South and Bassa LGAs will continue till further notice.

The governor sympathised with the victims of the attack but urged them to show restraint and not allow hooligans take advantage of the unfortunate situation to cause mayhem in the state.
(NAN)