Five persons have been confirmed killed by suspected gunmen in Mbar village of Bokkos local government area of Plateau State.
A statement jointly signed by Barrister Farmasum Fuddang, chairman, and Amb. Duwam Bosco, secretary of Bokkos Cultural Development Council Vanguard (BCDCV), in Jos, disclosed this.
According to them, “We wish to condemn in the strongest terms the tragic killing of five innocent young men in the Mbar community on September 15, despite prior intelligence reports of suspected terrorists’ influx into the area.”
The statement explained that the harmless, unarmed youths were attacked on their way from Mbar town to Koh village along a bypass encircling Yelwa Nono village between 7 pm and 7: 30 pm 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 at the scene several minutes later, the terrorists had completed their mission and fled without apprehension.
BCDCV further argued that the incident adds to a series of armed attacks in their villages, including the recent murder of 11 youths in Tarangol, Daffo, and Bargesh villages on the 3rd of September.
‘We perceive these unprovoked attacks as a calculated attempt at evicting our people from their ancestral homes and taking over the land. ”
The statement also said, ‘We request to be involved in handling the threats in our land, working in synergy with security forces as is the case with the civilian joint task force in the northeast and northwest regions. ”
They further noted that this is not to undermine or underrate the efforts of the military as they 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.
The socio-cultural organisation also sympathised with the families of the victims and called on our people to be vigilant, adding that they will not stand idly by while their people, a small minority in Nigeria, are eliminated from the face of the earth,” the statement further reads.
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