By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Following the killing of 12 people by gunmen in Tilengpat Pushit community in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State , women in Bokkos Local Government Area of the state have taken to the streets in protests over the renewed violent attacks by gunmen in their communities.
Some residents in Bokkos town said that the protesting women were headed to the Council headquarters to register their grievances
It was gathered that the attacks leading to the deaths of the victims occurred in the late hours of Thursday, 18 April, 2024
Recall that last week; gunmen killed no fewer than ten persons in Mandung-Mushu and Kopnanle villages, in the Bokkos and Mangu local government areas of the state.
They also left several persons injured, with property, including the homes of the villagers, set ablaze.
The Chairman of Mangu Local Government Area, Markus Argue confirmed the latest killings to an online medium in Jos, the state capital on Friday, 19 April, 2024.
“Yes, it is true that our people have just been attacked again and killed for no reason. It happened last night. As I talk to you, I’m in the affected community in Pushit. I can not give you the figure of victims for now because we are still assessing the situation but what we don’t understand is why some people will just target women and children in their homes and just kill them for no reason,” he said.
A community leader in Pushit, who gave his name simply as John, however, also told the medium that twelve dead bodies had so far been recovered at the scene of the attack and the nearby bush from the latest attack.
“So far, we have recovered twelve dead bodies of individuals who were brutally murdered during the attack in the Pushit community and their bodies recovered.
“The identities of the victims have not yet been disclosed, pending notification of their families. The Law enforcement agencies are also here and have initiated investigations into the matter to ascertain the motive behind these heinous crimes and to apprehend the perpetrators responsible for this reprehensible act,” John said.
As at the time of filing this report, Plateau State Police Command has yet to comment on the sad development.
However, according to the medium, sources at the State Police Command headquarters in Jos said that security operatives had been deployed to the affected community
Source: The Punch online