By Golok Nanmwa, Jos
Five persons have been killed in Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State by gunmen on Sunday night.
A statement jointly signed by Barrister Farmasum Fuddang ,the Chairman, and Ambassador Duwam Bosco Secretary of Bokkos Cultural Development Council Vanguard read: “We wish to condemn in the strongest terms the tragic killing of five innocent young men in Mbar community on September 15, despite prior intelligence reports of suspected terrorists’ influx into the area.”
According to the statement, 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 to 7.30pm by fleeing terrorists on motorcycles who were initially repelled by the military from the surrounding mountains.
The statement added that “by the time the security forces were informed about the attack and arrived 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 11 youths in Tarangol, Daffo, and Bargesh villages on September 3.
‘We perceive these unprovoked attacks as a calculated attempt at evicting our people from their ancestral homes and taking over the land.
“We request to be involved in the handling of 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 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.
“This we believe can enable us to find lasting solutions to these attacks. We wish to also advise communities to eschew late movements as advised by security authorities to minimize risk.”
The social cultural organization also sympathized with the families of the victims and call on the people to be vigilant, saying: “We will not stand idly by while our people a small minority in Nigeria are eliminated from the face of the earth.”
