Gunmen kill five youths in fresh Plateau attack

Gunmen suspected to be militia have killed five youths in Mbar community of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.

According to the Chairman of the
Bokkos Cultural Development Council Vanguard, Farmasum Fuddang, the attack occurred on Sunday night when some youths who were in transit within the council were ambushed by the assailants who gunned them down.

In a statement on Tuesday, Fuddang said the murdered youths were harmless and unarmed and were attacked on their way from Mbar town to Koh village along a bypass encircling Yelwa Nono village by fleeing terrorists on motorcycles who were initially repelled by the military from the surrounding mountains.

Fufdang said by the time the security forces were informed about the attack and arrived the scene several minutes later, the terrorists had completed their mission and fled without apprehension.

“We wish to condemn in the strongest terms the tragic killing of five innocent young men in Mbar community on September 15, despite prior intelligence reports of suspected terrorist’s influx into the area,” the statement said.

“This incident adds to a series of armed attacks in our villages, including the recent murder of 11 youths in Tarangol, Daffo, and Bargesh villages on September 3.”

The group expressed concerns on continuous unprovoked attacks which are perceived as calculated attempts at evicting the people from their ancestral homes and taking over the land.

“We perceive these unprovoked attacks as a calculated attempt at evicting our people from their ancestral homes and taking over the land. We request to be involved in the handling of the threats in our land, working in synergy with security forces as is in the case with the civilian joint task force in the northeast and northwest regions.

“This is not to undermine or underrate the efforts of the military. However, we understand the logistical and manpower shortages faced by the military, requiring the active participation of local community members who by the way know the terrain and can better assist with intelligence to identify and expose criminal elements in communities.

“This we believe can enable us to find lasting solutions to these attacks. We wish to also advise communities to eschew late movements as advised by security authorities to minimise risk.

“We will not stand idly while our people, a small minority in Nigeria, are eliminated from the face of the earth,” the group warned.

The management of the Bokkos Local Government Council led by the Director of Personnel Management, Christy Loyi, has confirmed the incident and visited the families of affected victims with assurances that security would be reinforced in the local government area.

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