14 KILLED IN FRESH PLATEAU AMBUSH ATTACK
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BY ALICE IDOWU
No fewer than 14 individuals, comprising women and children, lost their lives in an ambush on Thursday evening close to Chirang village in the Mangor district of the Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State.
The victims were arriving from the weekly market in Bokkos town when their vehicle was assaulted by presumed armed herdsmen recognized by community leaders as Fulani militants.
The Chairman of the Bokkos Cultural Development Forum (BCDF) Vanguard, Farmasum Fuddang, condemned the attack, calling it part of a broader pattern of violence that has plagued the area.
The Forum stated that the ambush served as yet another distressing reminder of an ongoing effort to dislocate indigenous communities in the central Plateau.
The group, which has consistently raised concerns about targeted violence, claimed that Thursday’s assault follows the killing of a young man in the same vicinity two days earlier.
Acording to BCDF, the recent occurrence has escalated the fatality count in the affected region to almost 100 over a span of two years, with more than 60 fatalities resulting from a large-scale assault on Christmas Eve in 2023.
“Residents have reported sightings of large crowds of armed terrorists marching towards the affected villages,” the group said in a statement, adding that the military confirmed a gun battle with the assailants as of press time.
While community members expressed mounting fears and frustration over the repeated attacks, the silence of official authorities has been deafening.
Numerous calls and inquiries directed to the Plateau State Police Public Relations Officer and the State Commissioner for Information went without response at the time of this report. The military, when approached, opted not to provide any remarks regarding the situation.
“This attack, along with ongoing village burnings and takeovers in the Mushere area, is part of an ethnic cleansing campaign disguised as communal conflict,” the BCDF stated.
“It is not random. It is calculated. And it is being met with alarming silence from those charged with protecting us.”
The forum emphasised that despite ongoing peace and reconciliation initiatives, these atrocities continue, driven by actors who allegedly benefit from denying or distorting the real nature of the crisis.
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