"Last night, gunmen attacked my village, Sabon Gari in Mangu, burnt six houses and destroyed many other properties."
Armed persons on Saturday night attacked a community in Plateau State, killing nine people and razing six houses, a resident and an official have said.
The attack occurred in the Sabon Gari community in Mangu Local Government of the state.
The attack is the latest in the state that has witnessed many such attacks by armed persons amidst ongoing ethnoreligious conflicts in various parts of the state.
Jerry Datim, one of the leaders of the attacked community, confirmed the attack to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
Mr Datim, who is the national president of the Global Society for Middle Belt Heritage, said the attack occurred on Saturday night.
"Last night, gunmen attacked my village, Sabon Gari in Mangu, burnt six houses and destroyed many other properties.
"So far, we have recovered nine dead bodies; we are still searching because some people are still missing," he said.
Mr Datim, however, commended personnel of Operation Rainbow, a local security outfit in the state, for responding swiftly to the attack.
"I wish to commend men of operation rainbow; their swift response brought the situation under control.
"We call on government to support them with necessary logistics for prompt response," he said.
Asked if residents had deserted the community, Mr Datim said that they had resolved to remain and defend their ancestral lands.
James Oya, the spokesperson of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), a Special Military Task Force, confirmed the incident.
Mr Oya, who did not confirm the number of deaths, said that the Commander of the Operation, Abdusalam Abubakar, a major general, was leading troops to the scene of the attack.
Plateau, in north-central Nigeria, has witnessed several such attacks despite the heavy deployment of security operatives. Some of the attacks are reprisals of pervious attacks between warring communities an ethnoreligious groups. Sometimes, the attacks are between armed herders and lcoal farming communities in the state.
Thousands of people have been killed and others injured in such attacks in the state.
