Five people have been killed by attackers in the Mbar hamlet in the Plateau State, North Central Nigeria’s Bokkos Local Government Area.
According to a press release from the Bokkos Cultural Development Council Vanguard, which was signed by the council’s chairman, Farmasum Fuddang, the attack happened on Sunday night while a few youths were traveling through the local government region.
The statement claims that the unarmed and defenseless youths were ambushed while traveling from Mbar town to Koh village along a bypass that surrounded Yelwa Nono hamlet. The terrorists, who were first driven back by the military from the nearby highlands, were riding motorcycles.
The group condemned the attack leading to the killing of five innocent young men in the Mbar community despite prior intelligence reports of suspected terrorists’ influx into the area.
“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. This incident adds to a series of armed attacks in our villages, including the recent murder of eleven youths in Tarangol, Daffo, and Bargesh villages on September 3rd 2024,” the group said.
The group also expressed concerns on continuous unprovoked attacks which are perceived as calculated attempts at evicting the people from their ancestral homes and taking over the land.
“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.
“This is not to undermine or underrate the efforts of the military. However, we understand the logistics and manpower shortages faced by the military, requiring the active participation of local community members who know the terrain and can better assist with intelligence to identify and expose criminal elements in communities,” the group said.
After verifying the occurrence and visiting the relatives of the victims, the Bokkos Local Government Council’s management, under the direction of Director of Personnel Management Christy Loyi, promised to bolster security in the local government region.
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