Five persons have been confirmed killed by suspected gunmen in Mbar village of Bokkos local government area of Plateau State on Sunday night.
This was disclosed in a statement jointly signed by Barrister Farmasum Fuddang, and Amb. Duwam Bosco, chairman and secretary of Bokkos Cultural Development Council Vanguard (BCDCV), respectively, a copy of which made available to LEADERSHIP in Jos, the State capital on Monday.
According to the group, “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 terrorists’ influx into the area.”
The statement explained that the armless youths were attacked on their way from Mbar town to Koh village along a bypass encircling Yelwa Nono village between 7pm to 7.30pm on the fateful day by fleeing terrorists on motorcycles who were initially repelled by the military from the surrounding mountains.
They added that 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 the scene.
BCDCV further argued that the incident added to a series of armed attacks in their villages, including the recent alleged murder of 11 youths in Tarangol, Daffo, and Bargesh villages on the September 3.
“We perceive these unprovoked attacks as a calculated attempt at evicting our people from their ancestral homes and taking over the land,” they alleged.
The statement also said, “We request to be involved in the handling of the threats in our land, working in synergy with security forces as is the case with the Civilian Joint Task Force in the North-East and North-West regions.”
BCDCV further noted that their request was not to undermine or underrate the efforts of the military as it understood 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.
The socio-cultural organisation also sympathised with the families of the victims and called on their people to be vigilant, adding that they will not stand by idly while their people – a small minority in Nigeria – are eliminated from the face of the earth.
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