From Jude Owuamanam, Jos

Chairman of Bokkos Community Development Council (BCDC) Vanguard,Farmasum Fuddang has said that the last Monday’s attack on Wumat, a Christian community in Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA), Plateau State  was meant to prevent the people from casting their votes in next Saturday’s LGA  election.

Three persons were  killed when gunmen suspected to be herdsmen invaded Wumat, a Christian community with a small population of about  500 residents on Monday.

The killing was done just two days before the scheduled LGA election.

The victims included an unborn child whose mother received a bullet injury in the stomach, while the would-be mother survived, the unborn child died in the womb.

Fuddang said that the attack came one week after intelligence revealed  a heightened risk of violence in the area due to the influx of individuals suspected to be  terrorists crossing from the borders of Plateau and Nasarawa states.

He said that that the timing of this attack that  coincided with the local government elections raised grave concerns of an orchestrated attempt to intimidate their community and suppress their participation in the electoral process.

In a statement,Fuddang said,”Under the cover of night, as families in Wumat were settling in for the evening, armed assailants speaking the Fulani dialect infiltrated the town through  nearby cornfields. At 8:49 p:m, they launched a terrifying assault, breaking into homes and firing indiscriminately for several minutes.

“By the time help arrived, three members of a single family were found dead: Mr. Istifanus Mallo (the father), Mr. Innocent Istifanus Mallo (the son), and Lois Istifanus Mallo (the daughter). Additionally, four others sustained serious injuries, including a heavily pregnant woman who was shot in the abdomen. Miraculously, she survived, but her unborn child did not make it.

“This attack in Wumat, situated in the Tarangol district, came on the heels of unfounded accusations from Fulani leaders who alleged that our community members forcibly evicted their members in Tarangol.

“We hereby, call for the investigation of some community leaders, who signed a defamatory letter dated August 23, 2024, addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Plateau State. We have consistently countered their baseless claims through formal petitions and media releases.

“These allegations were made during a period when we were mourning the loss of over 30 community members due to similar armed assaults by Fulani militants in Butura, Daffo, Mbar, and surrounding districts.

“Moreover, the Fulani have been grazing their livestock on our  farms and occupying our lands without permission, creating a hostile environment for local landowners. Despite our community’s restraint in the face of such provocations, we continue to be unjustly accused in a pattern that appears designed to justify further violence.

“We demand the arrest and investigation of the aforementioned individuals for their potential complicity in this recent attack, which coincided with the local government elections. Residents reported that followers of these Fulani leaders, issued opened threats prior to the attack, which further justifies our position. These individuals should as a matter of fact be held responsible for any future attacks in the area.

“As we write this, we are working on the background to appeal to our  women to withdraw their planned protests in the interest of peace and development, especially  the ongoing elections. We demand that our efforts should be complemented with the arrest of these suspects whose clear goal is to takeover and dominate our lands.”