The Police Force has arrested 33 suspects in connection to the massacre of 22 travellers passing through Plateau State last weekend.
The victims were Muslims travelling from Bauchi to Ondo State after attending an annual prayer before they were attacked along Rukuba road in Jos North LGA on Saturday, August 14, 2021.
The mass murder of the travellers has been widely-condemned by citizens and authorities, attracting national attention amid a wave of other killings in the northern region.
Police Force spokesperson, Frank Mba, said in a statement on Monday, August 16 that 13 additional suspects have been arrested in addition to the 20 initially detained.
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, has ordered the deployment of additional operational asset including a surveillance helicopter, two units of Police Mobile Force (PMF), and two cells of Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) to Plateau.
“The surveillance helicopter, manned by operatives of Nigeria Police Airwing, is expected to carry out aerial surveillance and confidence-boosting patrols within the hotspots, in coordinated operations with the ground troops,” he said.
Police investigative, operational and peace-building response is being coordinated by DIG Sanusi N. Lemu, according to Monday’s statement.
President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday the ‘heinous’ attack was planned to specifically target the victims because of their religion.
“Make no mistake about it: in line with my commitment to protect all Nigerians, I have ordered our security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of this gruesome massacre of innocent travellers and bring them to justice,” he said.
Many parts of Nigeria are plagued by regular acts of violence that have claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands from their communities.
At least 1,772 civilians were killed between April and June in violent incidents including terror attacks, abductions, and gang clashes.
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