Gunmen Kill Mourners In Fresh Plateau Attack
No fewer than eleven persons, including a pregnant woman, the husband, and a ten-year-old girl, were killed, with some others sustaining serious injuries in an attack by assailants on the Ruwi village of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.
In a statement, the Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) Vanguard Chairman Farmasum Fuddang said the suspected herders launched the attack on Thursday night during a wake ceremony and service of songs for an elderly woman in the community.
Fuddang said the attackers took advantage of the solemn occasion to unleash terror on the mourners, leading to deaths and injuries.
“Unfortunately, the safety of vulnerable communities was left to unarmed civilian watchers, who were unable to repel the invasion of Ruwi by heavily armed terrorists. The attack was successfully carried out without any obstruction or arrest, despite the fact that soldiers from Operation Safe Haven were located just 500 meters away,” he said.
“They failed to respond to the sound of gunfire and the desperate cries for help from defenseless women and children,” the statement claimed.
The cultural association expressed concerns about the land-grabbing agenda of the attackers and called for a holistic approach from political, traditional, community, and religious leaders to address the extremist attacks and protect vulnerable adherents.
Security agencies are also admonished to adopt a proactive approach, moving beyond the current reactionary stance, which only exacerbates the pain and trauma for survivors and diminishes trust.
The Plateau State Police Command, through the Public Relations Officer Alfred Alabo, condemned the attack in a statement issued on Friday.
Alabo stressed that additional deployment of personnel has been ordered by the commissioner of police to restore normalcy and prevent any reprisal.
