Gunmen Kill 8 In Plateau Community As Troops Neutralise 10 Terrorists, Rescue Kidnap Victims

Gunmen stormed Mbwelle village in Bokkos local government rea of Plateau State late Thursday night, killing no fewer than eight persons during a sporadic shooting.

LEADERSHIP gathered that most of the victims were members of one family.

The attack occurred around 11pm on the fateful day when the assailants invaded the community and opened fire indiscriminately on residents, leaving about three persons injured while some community members were reported missing.

Those confirmed dead include Elder Iliya Mangut Dakus, Mr Luck Titus Dakus, Mr Habila Istifanu Dakus, Mr Hassan Istifanus Dakus, Mrs Hassan Moses Dakus, Biggie Lucky Dakus, Sunday Gideon Dakus and Mr Innocent Barnabas Makwin.

The chairman of the Community Peace Observers in Bokkos local government area, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent, said the attack has created tension in the community.

“The community is very close to Bokkos town.”

“The attack lasted for several hours with no visible security presence to repel the attackers,” he alleged .

Mallai added that locals were angry over the failure of security operatives to protect them and were planning to stage a protest.

He further alleged that security forces did not respond despite their proximity to the area, and that armed personnel are currently deployed to protect a specific community suspected by natives of Bokkos to be the origin of the attackers.

Meanwhile, Christopher Luka, Youth Leader of Bokkos, also also confirmed the incident, describing it as “a sad and devastating assault on the people of Bokkos and Plateau State as a whole.”

“The gunmen came around 11pm and started shooting sporadically.”

They targeted one family particularly. We have eight confirmed dead, some seriously injured, and others still unaccounted for,” Luka said.

Efforts to get the reaction of the Plateau State Police Command’s spokesman, SP Alfred Alabo, were unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report

In a related development, troops of Operation Enduring Peace have neutralised 10 terrorists and rescued several kidnap victims during a major clearance operation that also dismantled criminal camps in Daji Madam Forest in Plateau State.

The coordinated operation, carried out in the early hours of Thursday, targeted identified criminal enclaves at Dogo Ruwa and Bogwas inside the forest.

The media officer of Operation Enduring Peace, Captain Chinonso Polycarp Oteh, while confirming the development, said the troops neutralised several terrorists and recovered arms during the coordinated clearance operations in parts of the state.

According to him, troops, in conjunction with local vigilante groups, conducted the operation across Daba and Seri villages in Wase and Kanam Local Government Areas of the State as part of offensive operations code-named Operation Wutan Daji.

He explained that at about 8:30 a.m. on April 9, troops established blocking positions between Dutsen Zaki and Odare Forest, where they sighted a large group of terrorists riding motorcycles along a known transit route.

“The troops swiftly engaged the criminals with a superior and well-coordinated volume of fire. Despite initial resistance, the terrorists were overwhelmed by the troops’ firepower, leading to the neutralisation of 10 of them, while others fled into the surrounding forest with gunshot wounds,” he said.

Oteh further disclosed that troops also launched follow-up operations after receiving reports of an attack on commuters along the Razat–Kafi Abu axis.

He said the criminals withdrew into the surrounding hinterlands upon contact with troops, prompting security forces to pursue them into nearby communities to restore normalcy.

According to him, troops subsequently conducted cordon-and-search operations in Suma Suga and Takwok villages, as well as adjoining mountainous areas.

Items recovered during the operations included three AK-47 rifles, three AK-47 magazines, eight rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, two motorcycles and five 25-litre jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) believed to be meant for the terrorists’ logistics.

He added that troops also recovered a National Identity Card and a photograph belonging to suspected members of the group, which he said would aid ongoing investigations.

The spokesman said the successful engagement had significantly degraded the operational capacity of armed groups in the area.

He noted that troops are currently on the trail of fleeing terrorists and their collaborators, assuring that the operation would be sustained to guarantee the safety of lives and property in the state.