By Golok Nanmwa, Jos
Gunmen on Friday night stormed a busy vegetable market in Mangu town, Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, killing three persons and injuring scores of others.
The attack occurred at about 8:30 p.m. as traders and buyers were preparing to close for the day, sending people into panic and forcing them to flee in different directions.
The ensuing stampede reportedly left several other persons injured as traders, buyers and passers-by scrambled to escape the scene.
President of the Mwaghavul Development Association, MDA, Bulus Dabit, who confirmed the incident, said the gunmen opened fire on a vehicle leaving the vegetable market, killing two women and a young man.
Dabit said the identities of the victims were not immediately known, adding that several passers-by were seriously injured and were being referred to the Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH, for treatment.
He said, “At about 8 p.m. on Friday, gunmen shot several times at a vehicle leaving the vegetable market in Mangu, killing two women and a young man.
“The names of the victims are not known yet. “Several passers-by were seriously injured and are being referred to the Jos University Teaching Hospital for treatment.”
Another source, John Haruna, who also confirmed the incident, said several persons sustained injuries during the attack.
Haruna said the sudden shooting created panic at the market, with people running in different directions in an attempt to escape, resulting in more persons sustaining injuries.
Dabit condemned the attack and urged security agencies to deploy intelligence and technology to identify and apprehend the perpetrators.
He said, “Security agencies must leverage intelligence and technology to apprehend the perpetrators of these dastardly acts, as they would not be far from the scene of the crime.”
The attack came only hours after the MDA raised concerns over continued threats to communities in Mangu, claiming that more than 750 Mwaghavul people had been killed in attacks since 2023.
The association in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday and signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Friday Derwam, after a joint meeting of its national executive, women’s leadership and youth leadership had earlier called for an immediate investigation into the recent killings of people in the council.
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