Over 6000 residents of the communities have also been displaced as a result of the attacks.
The death toll from the coordinated attacks on 23 villages in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi local government areas of Plateau State has risen to 155.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, December 26, 2023, the Chairman of Bokkos Local Government Area, Monday Kassa, said the death toll from his LGA alone has reached 125.
“Up till this moment, our people are still in the bush searching for missing ones. Today we have recovered more than 20 bodies from the bush and the search is not over yet. The death toll from Bokkos local government is now 125,” Kassa said.
Giving an account of the incident in his LGA, the Chairman of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Danjuma Dakil disclosed that the death toll in Barkin Ladi is 30 and not 17 as earlier reported.
He added that over 1,000 injured victims were rushed to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).
According to reports, over 6000 residents of the communities have also been displaced as a result of the attacks.
While condemning the attacks on Tuesday, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) called for a change in military tactics.
The spokesperson of the group, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman in a statement questioned the tactics security agencies employed in fighting terrorism and banditry in the north.
The statement reads in part, “NEF expresses concern over the inability of the military to prevent the Christmas Eve killings, despite claiming to have promptly responded to 36 distress calls from different locations in Plateau State in the 48 hours leading up to Christmas. This highlights the Forum’s growing suspicions regarding the efficacy and sufficiency of the government’s operational methods.
“NEF questions whether the strategies employed by the government are flawed or grossly inadequate, given the audacious regularity and ease with which the attackers operate across the northern region.
“NEF is also deeply concerned about the recent security incident in Ruwan Dorawa village, Zamfara State that unfolded on the same Christmas Eve resulting in the loss of two innocent lives and the abduction of over 25 individuals, predominantly children and women, including the wife of the village head.
Also, President Bola Tinubu in a statement condemned the attacks and mandated the security forces to comb every stretch of the affected zones to ensure the culprits face the full wrath of the law.
The President also ordered the immediate mobilisation of relief resources to aid surviving victims of the attacks.
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