The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) Tuesday expressed deep grief and outrage over the gruesome killing of innocent travellers in Plateau state.
The groups described the June 20 attack as a barbaric, cold-blooded assault that underscores the persistent threat to peaceful coexistence in Nigeria and said 31 individuals, including women and children, were travelling from Zaria to Kwa in Quan Pan local government area of the state to attend a wedding when they were ambushed by armed assailants killing 12 people.
A statement signed by national coordinator of CNG, Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, stated that eight victims, including a 10-year-old child, were killed and burnt inside the bus which was reportedly owned by Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
The statement reads: “Eighteen others are currently receiving treatment for life-threatening injuries at Mangu General Hospital. Four remain missing, unaccounted for, leaving their families in anguish and uncertainty.
“According to eyewitness accounts and available reports, the only crime these victims committed was being Hausa and Muslim. This targeted attack is not an isolated case, but a continuation of a deeply troubling trend of ethnically and religiously motivated violence in Plateau state spanning nearly two decades.
“We painfully recall the burning alive of Ningi travellers during the Dariye administration. The still unresolved murder of General Idris Alkali under the Jang administration. The killing of Muslim pilgrims from Ondo state returning from Bauchi during the Lalong administration.”