The mass burial of eight family members who were killed in an attack on Mbwelle village in Kwatas district, Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, on Friday, sparked fury and profound sorrow. The attackers were believed to be Fulani militia.
Over twenty people were killed and numerous others injured when bandits stormed the community on Thursday night.
Reports from the villagers indicate that at approximately 10:30 p.m., terrorists invaded the village and opened fire intermittently for almost an hour without any resistance, while efforts to notify the security forces proved fruitless.
The gunmen allegedly carried out what appeared to be targeted attacks, going house to house. Upon reaching the home of Elder Iliya Mangut Dakus, they rounded up any family members who were unable to flee and brutally killed them.
The names of those killed in the massacre are as follows:
Aged Iliya Mangut Dakus
Fortunate Titus Dakus (38)
Istifanu Dakus, Habila (38)
Dakus, Hassan Istifanus (31)
Dakus, Mrs. Hassan Moses, age 25
Dakus, the Wisdom (15)
Gideon Dakus, Sunday (31), and Innocent Barnabas Makwin, 20 Years Old
Nonetheless, community and student leaders expressed fury during their mass burial, calling for justice and the capture of those responsible for the evil deed.
Speaking during the funeral, Christopher Luka, a community youth leader, voiced his frustration at the absence of protection during the multiple-hour attack, which occurred despite the village’s closeness to Bokkos town.
I began contacting people as soon as I heard gunfire in order to determine the source of the gunfire. The region had been mostly quiet before to this.
This attack was shocking because there had been no violent episodes recently. The attack and the lack of security are deeply regretted by us.
He described it as an attack on the Bokkos people and all of Plateau State.
An additional speaker at the service, Dakol James, who is the chairman of the Bokkos chapter of the Plateau Youth Council (PYC), denounced the attack, calling it unwarranted, and urged the government to step in immediately to put an end to the bloodshed.
Everyone under the age of 25 in Bokkos is extremely dissatisfied with the current state of security. No security detail has been sent out to evaluate the situation as of this morning.
“We have not seen any security presence, and it has been about 12 hours,” James stated.
Community leader Yunana Amos bemoaned the constant assaults on Bokkos locals and held the state’s administration and security forces responsible for the lack of action to reduce violence.
At about 10:30 p.m., the assailants arrived and began firing intermittently. One family was their primary target. There are eight bodies that have been found, several injured, and other people who have not been found yet.
Our folks are planning a protest because they are furious that security personnel failed to protect them.
According to Amos, it is unfortunate that the security personnel chose not to react, even though the region was close to one of their base camps.