The official death toll in the Christmas Eve attack in Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi, Plateau State, has now reached 195 as search operations continue.
This was revealed by Musa Ashoms, the Plateau State Commissioner for Information and Communication, on December 28, 2023.
However, the Nigerian Red Cross, a Non-Governmental Organization in Bokkos, reported that there were 161 recorded deaths and 32,604 people affected by the attack.
The attack has also caused displacement for 29,350 individuals across 84 communities in Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi.
Additionally, the Red Cross stated that 301 people were injured and 27 houses were burned in the coordinated attack.
It is important to note that armed groups, suspected to be herders, carried out these attacks between Saturday evening and Tuesday morning in Plateau State, which has been plagued by religious and ethnic tensions for several years.
Previously, authorities had reported the death toll as 163.
During a meeting with Nigeria’s vice president on Wednesday, Monday Kassah, who is the head of the local government in Bokkos, Plateau State, stated that 148 villagers from Bokkos had lost their lives in the attacks.
Additionally, Dickson Chollom, a member of the state parliament, reported that at least 50 people had been killed in various villages in the Barkin Ladi area.
“We appeal to you to resist the temptation to succumb to sectional divisions or the poisonous rhetoric of hatred towards your fellow citizens as we pursue justice to ensure your security,” Vice President Kashim Shettima told local officials and displaced people on Wednesday.
President Bola Tinubu condemned the attacks on Tuesday, ordering “security agencies to immediately move in, scour every stretch of the zone, and apprehend the perpetrators.”
Caleb Mutfwang, the governor of Plateau State, also called for “joined efforts to identify and apprehend those responsible for these heinous acts.”
Meanwhile, the Sultan of Sokoto, Mohammed Saad Abubakar, has blamed the indiscriminate killings of innocent people in Plateau State on a lack of leadership.
