A total of 21 people were killed and several others injured as unidentified gunmen attacked two villages in central Nigeria’s Plateau State on Wednesday morning, a Nigerian civil group said Thursday.
A statement from the Emancipation Center for Crisis Victims in Nigeria, a non-governmental organization focusing on protecting victims of violence and crisis based in the state, said the gunmen invaded the Batin and Rayogot villages in the Barkin Ladi local government area in the early hours of Wednesday, killing 21 people and injuring several others.
“The attackers came in their hundreds while the unsuspecting victims were asleep and they overpowered few local vigilantes on guard,” said the statement.
Oya James, a spokesperson of military troops based in the state, confirmed the attacks to reporters in Jos, the state capital, on Thursday in a short statement, saying prior to the attacks, a warning was sent out and the troops responded swiftly and immediately deployed forces to the area.
However, the gunmen followed another route and attacked the villages, said James.
“The troops engaged the attackers and they now withdrew,” he added, without revealing casualties in the attacks.
A series of armed attacks have taken place across the most populous African country in recent months, leading to the deaths of civilians and security operatives.
