Ubah Ogaba, the police spokesperson in Plateau, said in a statement Saturday that a convoy of five buses with Muslim followers was attacked by armed men along Rukuba road of Jos North local government area of the state, reports Xinhua news agency.

The victims were returning from "the Annual Zikr prayer in Bauchi State and heading to Ikare in Ondo State" when they were attacked by a group of attackers "suspected to be Irigwe (a local ethnic group) youths and their sympathizers", Ogaba said.

He said a team of police personnel, the military, and other security agencies were immediately mobilized to the scene, where 21 people were rescued and six suspects arrested, after receiving a distress call.

An investigation is underway to "fish out other perpetrators of this barbaric act at large", said the spokesperson, while urging local communities to remain calm and provide the police with useful information for the investigation.