by ‘Jola Sotubo

Five members of a family have been killed by unknown gunmen in Jos, Plateau State.

The assailants, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, shot the five individuals on Sunday night in Kungte village, Kanadap, in the Kuru District of Jos South Local Government Area of the state. One Peter Dung, his wife and three children were identified as the victims.

According to reports, the gunmen also killed another person whose identity is yet to be determined. Plateau State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Yiljap Abraham, who confirmed the killings, described the incident as “inhuman and utter display of insensitivity to the sanctity of lives.”

Spokesperson of the Plateau State Police Command, DSP Felicia Anselm, also confirmed the incident. Anselm said the police had been working round the clock to apprehend the killers. She said no suspect had been arrested in connection with the incident, adding that the remains of the victims had been deposited in the mortuary.

Reacting on behalf of the state government, Abraham, in a statement, said, “The unprovoked killing of six members of two families in their home in Kungte village, Kanadap (near Marraraban Jama’a) in Kuru District of Jos South Local Government Area by gunmen on Sunday, September, 1, 2013, is an evil and wicked act that should be condemned by all members of society.

“The killing is also a display of cowardice by the perpetrators who under the cover of darkness deliberately chose to visit violence on vulnerable members of society, women and children, to achieve clearly devilish designs.

“Such an attack, coming at a time when the state has been mostly peaceful for quite some time appears a desperate attempt to reverse the gains of our hard-earned efforts in breaking down the barriers of ethnic and religious intolerance and thereby rebuilding the bridges of communal consensus.

“Such intentions will fail because Plateau people have made up their minds to live in peace with one another and, together with the state government and security agencies, they will frustrate every attempt aimed at taking the state back to the days of bloodshed and gloom. The current level of peace in the state is for consolidation, not evaporation”

The Sunday killing occurred less than a fortnight after 10 people were killed in similar fashion in Foron district of Barkin Ladi thus raising fears of resurgence of killings in Plateau after months of peace.

The Kungte murder also came barely 24 hours after the redeployment of the Commander of the Special Task Force, Maj. Gen. Henry Ayoola.