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Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, on Wednesday, dismissed insinuations that the state was witnessing an upsurge in violent attacks and killings.
He was reacting to attacks by gunmen which claimed the lives of eight persons in the Dafo and Kwata communities of Bokkos Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday night.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night when gunmen stormed the town and opened fire on innocent villagers, killing eight persons in the two affected communities.
Speaking with journalists on Wednesday during a biannual shooting range classification exercise conducted by the 3 Division, Nigerian Army, at its headquarters in Bassa Local Government Area of the state, the governor declared the Bokkos incident as a one-off
Represented by his Special Adviser on Security and Homeland Safety, Brig Gen Gagji Shippi (retd), the governor said, “I don’t think there is an upsurge in insecurity in Plateau.
“The killings in Kwatas and Dafo are a one-off occurrence after such a long while. We’ve not had this kind of attack until yesterday, so I would not say there is an upsurge.”
He disclosed that an investigation had been launched into the killings.
“We’re looking into it to know what the problem is and proffer solutions and should be able to nip it in the bud before it goes any further,” he said.
A statement issued on Wednesday by the spokesman for the 3 Division, Nigerian Army, Aliyu Danja, described the second schedule range classification as an exercise conducted bi-annually in all the formations and units of the Army for its personnel across the country.
“The 3 Div second scheduled range classification exercise is designed to assess the serviceability of the Nigerian Army arsenal and, at the same time, to test the effectiveness of troops’ skills in weapon handling and ascertain their battle readiness.
“Furthermore, the exercise serves as an avenue for troops to sharpen their marksmanship skills, to ensure minimal casualty and waste of ammunition when deployed in battle or internal security operations.
“Also, the range classification exercise serves as an avenue of fostering mutual and cordial inter-agency relationships with sister security agencies through novelty shooting exercises where heads of security agencies, government functionaries, as well as traditional rulers, retired senior officers, corps members and members of the media will take part in the exercise.
“The participation of security agencies and other guests is desirable as it strengthens collaboration between security organisations on the Plateau. The inclusion of traditional rulers and civil societies in the shooting exercise was designed to enable them to have a feel of our weapon and also foster cordial civil-military relations and cooperation with the general public and to also have a feel of the military experience,” the statement read.
Our correspondent reports that the weapons fired by the officers and guests at the event included AK-47 rifles, FN rifles and pistols, among others.
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