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… Troops neutralise 10 bandits in Plateau
From Jude Owuamanam Jos
Still reeling from the Palm Sunday Angwan Rukuba killings, no fewer than eight people were killed when gunmen stormed Mbwelle village in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State late Thursday night.
Our correspondent gathered that attackers, who struck at about 11 pm shot sporadically for close to an hour without challenge.
Most of the victims were members of the same family.
The victims include include 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.
The oldest son of Iliya Dakus, who spoke in a viral video said that they were sleeping when they heard shooting.
He said, “When I heard the sound, I tapped my wife and told her that some people are shooting and she said you’re always afraid just go and sleep. I told her this is not just shooting, we’re under attack. I managed to slip from the backdoor and before I could do anything to help my family, the gunmen surrounded them and shot them in cold blood
Pointing to the corpses, he says, ” This my father, this is my wife, these are my brothers and these are my children. Altogether eight of them are from the same family.”
The Chairman of the Bokkos Community Peace Observers, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed the incident to newsmen, said the attack has created tension in the community.
He alleged that there was no response from security forces despite the proximity of the area, and that personnel are currently deployed to protect a specific community suspected by natives of Bokkos to be the origin of the attackers.
“The attack lasted for several hours with no visible security presence to repel the attackers, in a community is very close to Bokkos town.”
Mallai expressed dismay over the failure of security operatives to protect them and are planning to protest.
Youth Leader of Bokkos, Christopher Luka, described the as “a sad and devastating assault on the people of Bokkos and Plateau State as a whole.”
He said that the gunmen targeted one family mostly with eight people confirmed dead, some seriously injured, and others still missing
In a related development, the Berom Youth Moulders Association has raised the alarm over unrelenting ambushes and killings targeting residents in Barkin Ladi, Riyom, and Jos South LGAs, even with security operatives on the ground.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Rwang Tengwong, the group, led by National President Dalyop Mwantiri, described the attacks as a calculated campaign of terror allegedly aimed at grabbing ancestral lands.
According to the association, on Wednesday, gunmen ambushed travellers returning from mining activities around the Great Commission area along the Bokkos Road, heading to Nding in Fan District of Barkin Ladi LGA, at about 4:15pm.
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The attackers opened fire on the victims, killing Mr Ayuba Pam of Nding Sesut. Two others, Mr Alfred Dung and Mr Nathaniel Bitrus, sustained serious injuries and were receiving treatment in the hospital.
He said that in the same vein the same evening, around 6:30pm, gunmen ambushed and killed Mr Christopher Joshua, a father of three from the Byei community in Riyom LGA, along the Gwolhoss–Byei road as he returned home from his daily activities.
The BYM described the incidents as part of sustained aggression against Berom communities and expressed concern that such ambushes continued on busy rural roads used by farmers, miners, and travellers, despite security agencies knowing the flashpoints and hideouts of the attackers.
Meanwhile troops of Operation Enduring Peace have neutralised 10 terrorists and rescued several kidnapped victims during a major clearance operation in Daji Madam Forest in Plateau State.
They also dismantled criminal camps in the coordinated operation, carried out in the early hours of Thursday.
The operation targeted targeted identified criminal enclaves at Dogo Ruwa and Bogwas inside the forest.
Media officer of Operation Enduring Peace, Captain Chinonso Polycarp Oteh, in a statement, said troops neutralised several terrorists and recovered arms during coordinated clearance operations in parts of the state.
According to him, troops, in conjunction with local vigilante groups, conducted the operation across Daba and Seri villages in Wase and Kanam Local Government Areas as part of offensive operations codenamed Operation Wutan Daji.
He explained that at about 8:30 a.m. on April 9, troops established blocking positions between Dutsen Zaki and Odare Forest where they sighted a large group of terrorists riding motorcycles along a known transit route.
Oteh listed items recovered during the operations to include three AK-47 rifles, three AK-47 magazines, eight rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, two motorcycles and five 25-litre jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) believed to be meant for the terrorists’ logistics.
“The troops swiftly engaged the criminals with a superior and well-coordinated volume of fire. Despite initial resistance, the terrorists were overwhelmed by the troops’ firepower, leading to the neutralisation of 10 of them, while others fled into the surrounding forest with gunshot wounds,” he said.
Oteh said that the troops also launched follow-up operations after receiving reports of an attack on commuters along the Razat–Kafi Abu axis.
He said the criminals withdrew into the surrounding hinterlands upon contact with troops, prompting security forces to pursue them into nearby communities to restore normalcy.
According to him, troops subsequently conducted cordon-and-search operations in Suma Suga and Takwok villages, as well as adjoining mountainous areas.
He added that troops also recovered a National Identity Card and a photograph belonging to suspected members of the group, which he said would aid ongoing investigations.
The army spokesman said the successful engagement had significantly degraded the operational capacity of armed groups in the area, noting that troops are currently on the trail of fleeing terrorists and their collaborators.
He assured that the operation would be sustained so as to guarantee the safety of lives and property of all residents in the state.
