Update On Jos Violence: Death Toll Rises To 6

Wed, 31/10/2012 - | ACHOR BIMAJE

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At least six  persons have been  feared  killed and seven others seriously injured when gunmen suspected to be Fulani mercenaries stormed  a  local bar, popularly called  Burukutu joint, at Gindin Akwati in Gashish district of Barkin Ladi local Government of Plateau State.
The gunmen, it was alleged, opened fire on all those inside the building.
The chairman of Berom Youth Movement (BYM), Francis Jarman, told LEADERSHIP in a telephone interview yesterday that two more dead were recorded, bringing the total death toll to six in the area.
He added that the two people died in a hospital from bullet wounds they sustained during the shootout. Seven injured persons are receiving treatment at the Plateau State Specialist Hospital
LEADERSHIP recalls that Barkin Ladi LGA is one of the crises-prone local governments of the state.
A source told our correspondent that the gunmen stormed the local bar late Sunday night and opened  fire on all those inside, people who were mostly friends that went out to unwind.
Spokesman of the state police command, DSP Abu Emmanuel, while confirming the incident to our correspondent, said that in the early hours of Monday, one Ali Iliya of Exlan Gashe Village had lodged a report at the police station at Barkin Ladi that there had been an attack in a bar and that men of the state police command had swung into action, but that before they got to the scene, the assailants had escaped.
Abu Emmanuel further said investigation was on, but that no arrest had been made. He called on residents of the locality to remain calm as effort was being intensified to bring the perpetrators to justice.

SOURCE: 31 October 2012.