Four youths, Tonzum Ngwalamba, Nentawe Leptak, Sati Tongleb and Ngompang Ngoshim, aged between 18 and 25, drowned in a well at Duk quarters in Pankshin town of Plateau State, yesterday. An eyewitness, Gonjir Goper, told journalists that the four died while trying to push the nozzle of a water pumping machine into the well. He said when the first victim fell in, “the second jumped into the well to rescue him, but did not come out. These rescue attempts continued till the well swallowed the four of them in a very short while.” Goper described the incident as “shocking and mysterious.” Sources indicated that one of the victims was a son to the owner of the well, one Mr Lamba. Mr. Sa’ad Ibrahim, the Divisional Police Officer of the area, who confirmed the incident, said that the corpses had been removed from the well and deposited at the Pankshin General Hospital. Chairman, Interim Management Committee of Pankshin Local Government, Mr. Stephen Jings, equally expressed shock at the incident
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned Ms. Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, urging her to “prevail on the Nigerian authorities to halt further killings of innocent citizens in Southern Kaduna.” The group also demanded investigation into recent alleged killing of over 800 citizens, mostly women, children and the elderly in that part of the country by suspected herdsmen, and to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, and to provide reparations to victims. The organization also asked Ms. Callamard to “request to visit Nigeria to conduct fact-finding mission into the circumstances surrounding the killings.” In the petition dated 30th December, 2016 and signed by SERAP executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organization expressed “concern that the killings of citizens in Southern Kaduna of Nigeria amount to serious violations of the rights to life; to security of the human person; to ...

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