- The occupants of the bus were said to be returning from the popular Bokkos market when they were attacked and murdered
The terrorists, suspected to be Fulani militias, who are wreaking havoc in Plateau State have struck again, leaving death and sorrow in their wake.
In their latest onslaught, the gunmen killed at least fourteen persons, including women and babies, on Thursday after ambushing a bus transporting them in Bokkos local government area.
The occupants of the bus were said to be returning from the popular Bokkos market when they were attacked and murdered in cold blood along Chirang Road in Mangor District of the LGA.
Locals privy to the tragic incident disclosed that the victims were on their way home from the weekly market where they conducted their businesses when the heavily armed men blocked the road and opened fire sporadically on the approaching bus, killing the victims and injuring many others.
Chairman of the Bokkos Cultural Development Forum (BCDF), Farmasum Fuddang, who also confirmed the incident in a statement on Friday, described it as shocking.
He lamented that several peace and reconciliation meetings and efforts to broker peace between farming and herding communities in the council have not stopped bandits from killing innocent people.
“The victims were returning from the weekly market in Bokkos town when their vehicle was ambushed. Victims included women and little babies,” Fuddang said in the statement.
“This violence occurs despite various so-called peace and reconciliation efforts,” the chairman said.
Fuddang, who did not mince words in accusing Fulani militias of launching the attack, said the fact was clear that they were the culprits, insisting that their goal is to take control of the entire local government area, which is recognised as the potato headquarters of Nigeria