Twelve travellers from the Basawa community in Zaria, Kaduna State, were killed in a mob attack on Friday in Mangu, Plateau State. Eleven others sustained injuries and are receiving treatment in hospital.
The victims, part of a 31-member group heading to Qua’an Pan LGA for a wedding, were travelling in an 18-seater bus belonging to Ahmadu Bello University when they were ambushed around 8 p.m.
The Chief Imam of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’a Wa’ikamatis Sunnah, Sheikh Suleiman Haruna, confirmed the deaths and said, “There were 31 travellers in the bus. Now we have 8 corpses in the hospitals. We have asked the security personnel to help recover the remaining four bodies…”
A survivor, Ibrahim Umar, recounted: “We were heading to Qua’an Pan to attend a wedding ceremony of our brother when we missed the road because we didn’t know it. We stopped and asked some people for directions, but before we knew it, they surrounded the vehicle, shouting that we should be killed.
“They started beating and attacking us with dangerous weapons. The mob killed the driver first and then attacked others. They burned the bus with the corpses inside. We are now in the hospital, receiving care.”
Police spokesperson DSP Alfred Altau acknowledged the incident, saying a formal statement would follow.
