Gunmen Kill 8 In Plateau

Gunmen attacked Mbwelle village in Bokkos local government area of Plateau State on Thursday night, killing no fewer than eight persons in a sporadic shooting that lasted close to an hour.

LEADERSHIP-Weekend gathered that most of the victims were members of the same family.

The attack occurred around 11pm when the assailants invaded the community and opened fire indiscriminately on residents, leaving about three persons injured while some community members are still 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.

Chairman of the Community Peace Observers in Bokkos, 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 said.

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

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

Christopher Luka, the youth leader of Bokkos, 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 mostly. 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 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 kidnapped 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 troops neutralised several terrorists and recovered arms during 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 as part of offensive operations codenamed 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.