Atleast eight persons were on thursday night killed when gunmen reportedly opened fire on residents of Mbwelle village in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.
It was gathered that most of the victims were members of the same family.
Those said to have been killed included 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.
Confirming the killings to newsmen on Friday, the Chairman of the Community Peace Observers in Bokkos LGA, Kefas Mallai, said the attack occurred around 11pm when the assailants invaded the community and started shooting indiscriminately, leaving about three other persons injured while some community members were still missing.
“There was an attack last night at Mbwelle village. The village is very close to Bokkos town. So far eight persons have been confirmed dead this morning.
“The people are saying they want to protest because the security men have not protected them and the attack lasted for hours and yet, no presence of security to repel the assailants until those people finished and left. No trace.
“The attack lasted for several hours with no visible security presence to repel the attackers.”
Mallai 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.
Youth Leader of Bokkos, Christopher Luka, 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, DSP Alfred Alabo, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
The Media Officer for the Joint Military Taskforce, Chinonso Oteh, was not immediately available to speak on the incident when contacted.
“I will get back to you,” he said.
