Gunmen Kill Five in Plateau’s Bokkos LGA

Unidentified gunmen have killed five people in the Mbar community of Bokkos Local Government Area, Plateau State, according to a statement by the Chairman of the Bokkos Cultural Development Council Vanguard, Farmasum Fuddang.

The attack occurred on Sunday night when a group of youths was travelling within the local government area.

The statement explained that the unarmed youths were attacked while returning from Mbar town to Koh village, along a bypass near Yelwa Nono village.

The assailants, believed to be fleeing terrorists on motorcycles, had previously been repelled by the military from nearby mountains.

The council condemned the attack, which led to the deaths of five innocent young men, despite prior intelligence reports indicating the presence of suspected terrorists in the area.

It expressed concerns over the continuous unprovoked assaults, which are seen as part of a calculated attempt to displace the local population from their ancestral lands.

“By the time security forces were informed and arrived at the scene, the terrorists had completed their mission and fled without being apprehended.

This tragic incident adds to a series of attacks in our villages, including the recent killing of eleven youths in Tarangol, Daffo, and Bargesh villages on 3rd September 2024,” the statement read.

The group also called for greater local involvement in addressing the security threats, advocating for a collaboration between the community and security forces, similar to the civilian joint task force model used in the northeast and northwest regions of Nigeria.

“This is not to undermine the efforts of the military. However, local community members, who understand the terrain better, can play a key role in providing intelligence to identify and expose criminal elements,” the group added.

The Bokkos Local Government Council, led by the Director of Personnel Management, Christy Loyi, confirmed the incident.

Loyi visited the families of the victims, offering assurances that security in the area would be reinforced to prevent further attacks.