No fewer than seven people were shot dead and many others injured, on Sunday, when gunmen attacked a market in Zurak Campani in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State.

According to residents, the attack occurred on a market day when residents gathered to buy and sell at the community’s main market.

Abdullahi Hussaini, a youth leader in the area who confirmed the incident, said the gunmen arrived at the market around 2 p.m. and opened fire at people transacting businesses.

“The gunmen arrived at the market in their numbers riding on motorcycles. They started shooting sporadically, killing seven people instantly while many others were injured. The gunmen did not encounter any resistance because people were not expecting any security threat,” Hussaini said.

“The gunmen later fled to the bush but the police have been deployed to the community to restore law and other. We are calling for more security deployment in the area because we don’t know what may happen anytime again,” the youth leader added.

Spokesperson of the police in Plateau State, Alabo Alfred, did not respond to calls made to his phone about the incident.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Plateau witnesses different forms of violence including ethno-religious crises usually fuelled by the competition for land between resident farming communities and herders. Last Christmas day, gunmen attacked many communities in coordinated attacks that left scores of people dead but with none of the perpetrators yet to be apprehended.

PT