Bandits have attacked a secondary school in the Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau state and killed two teachers.
It was learnt that the victims were a newly married couple who were teaching at the BECO Comprehensive Secondary school in the Kwi community of the council area.
Eyewitnesses said the incident happened on Monday afternoon when the school was holding a meeting to compile results of students for delivery on Friday, 18th August during their “Speech and Prize Giving Day in line with the school’s calendar.
A youth leader in the community, Moses Gwott who confirmed the killings to The PUNCH in Jos on Tuesday said that the bandits also wounded other teachers including the Vice Principal of the school.
Gwott said, “It was on Monday around 3:00 pm that the bandits came into the school Compound with their cattles, and interrupted the Staff meeting.The staff had asked the bandits who were obviously Fulani to get their cows out of the school environment. But instead of complying, they brought out their arms and opened gunfire at the teachers killing two teachers.”
The National Publicity Secretary of the Berom Youths Moulders Association ,Rwang Tengwong also confirmed the attack in a statement on Tuesday ,calling on the authorities implement an open grazing ban in the communities so as forestall further occurrence.
“The Berom Youths Moulder-Association-BYM is, again, saddened over the invasion of BECO Comprehensive School Kwi, where two staff, Mr and Mrs Rwang Danladi are reportedly shot dead and one Mr Dalyop Emmanuel Ibrahim, the Vice Principal of the School seriously injured by some known fulani armed men alongside suspected Bandits elements at about 3:00pm of Monday, 14th August, 2023.
“This resulted to the death of recently wedded couples, Rwang Danladi and wife, Mrs Sandra Rwang Danladi, who are the staff of the school while Mr Dalyop Emmanuel Ibrahim who is the Vice Principal of the institution sustained serious injury and is receiving medical treatment at the Jos University Teaching Hospital-JUTH.
“The Berom Youth Moulder-Association, BYM under the leadership of Solomon Dalyop Mwantiri, Esq notes with concern how these Terrorists from Fass and Mahanga now move freely with arms and graze on farmlands, intimidating locals at nearby Communities.
Fass and Mahanga as well as Guava have become enclaves of terrorists, who carry out all sorts of coordinated attacks on villages and Communities in Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Bokkos, Mangu, Jos South and even beyond the state.
“We therefore call on government to ban open grazing in Plateau state since grazing has become a ploy to continue unleashing havock on human lives and property.
“We also call on security operatives to, as a matter of urgency, raid the aforementioned settlement formed by way of forceful occupation after uprooting the aboriginals therefrom. This is necessary in order to get rid of both the terrorist and criminal elements that have firmly defied law and order.
“BYM calls on Government to declare Fulani Militias as terrorists so as to be treated as such.”
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Alfred Alabo ,could not be reached for comment on his phone line when contacted on the incident by our correspondent as calls out across to it indicated that it was switched off.