Thirteen people, mostly children and the elderly, have been killed in fresh attacks on Juwan and Manja communities in Bokkos and Mangu Local Government Areas of Plateau State, allegedly by suspected herdsmen. Homes were also set ablaze during the assaults.
The deadly raid on Juwan, in Tangur District of Bokkos LGA, took place on Thursday night, resulting in the deaths of ten people and leaving others severely injured.
In a separate incident earlier that evening, three people were killed on their farm in Manja, Chafem Chiefdom of Mangu LGA, as attackers struck while they were tending their crops. Other villagers managed to escape with injuries following the timely intervention of security personnel, alerted by survivors of the onslaught.
Confirming the tragic events, the Chairman of Bokkos Local Government Council, Amalau Samuel, condemned the killings as “barbaric and inhuman.”
“The attackers came late at night and started killing innocent people. They were going from house to house, and where they could not gain entrance, they broke through the ceiling,” Samuel said.
“Those affected mostly are the aged and children who could not run, while those agile fled for safety.”
The attack in Manja also led to the burning of over twenty houses before security operatives repelled the assailants.
Mathew Kwarpo, the member representing Mangu South in the Plateau State House of Assembly, also confirmed the Manja killings.
“The terrorists invaded the community and killed three people before they were repelled by security men in conjunction with the youths,” Kwarpo said.
According to him, the attackers returned later in the day in a second wave, during which more than twenty houses were razed, forcing villagers to flee.
“In the second attack, there was no casualty, but the people are already displaced. So, we are appealing to both the state and federal governments to come to our aid,” he said.
“The attacks in recent times on our communities are just too much. Anytime they issued notice of an attack, they would fulfil it.”
“The security men are no doubt trying their best, but they are being overpowered. This is a calculated attempt to seize our land from us and to occupy our land illegally. So we are calling on President Tinubu to intervene.”
Several communities in Bokkos, Bassa, and Mangu local government areas of Plateau State have come under intensifying attacks from suspected herdsmen in recent months, leading to significant loss of lives and destruction of property.
