Blood flowed again in Plateau State on Thursday night as at least 14 innocent lives, including women and babies were wiped out in yet another cycle of violence that refuses to end.
The victims were market-goers returning home after the weekly Bokkos market when gunmen struck along Chirang Road in the Mangor District of Bokkos Local Government Area.
Eyewitness reports say the attackers, heavily armed and well-coordinated, opened fire on a moving vehicle, leaving bodies scattered and families shattered. This chilling assault comes barely weeks after wedding guests from Kaduna were brutally murdered in the same volatile region.
Farmasum Fuddang, chairman of the Bokkos Cultural Development Forum (BCDF), could barely mask his anger as he condemned the killings, calling it proof that so-called peace efforts have failed woefully.
“These victims were ambushed on their way home. Women and babies were among those killed. This shows that the violence persists despite all the reconciliation meetings,” he said.
Fuddang didn’t stop there. He accused a specific ethnic group of orchestrating the bloodshed, claiming it was part of a calculated move for territorial control. “Their goal is to take over Bokkos, the potato capital of Nigeria,” he alleged, warning of similar land grabs already happening in Mushere.
But the Gan Allah Fulani Development Association (GAFDAN) fired back, dismissing the accusations as baseless. Its chairman, Saleh Adamu, insisted no evidence links Fulani herders to the attack.
“This is the first time we’re hearing such an allegation. Nobody was arrested to prove it. We condemn the killings completely. There is no justification for taking innocent lives,” Adamu said, urging security agencies to dig deep before pointing fingers.
Meanwhile, the streets of Bokkos are heavy with grief and anger as Plateau, once again, mourns its dead
