At least eight people were reportedly killed and four others injured on Thursday night when gunmen attacked Vole community in Kwatas district, Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State, North Central Nigeria.
The latest incident came a day after similar attacks at a mining site in Kok village, Ropp district, as well as in Chenye village, Bachi district of Barkin Ladi and Riyom LGAs, where two people were killed.
Confirming the Vole attack, Chairman of the Plateau Youth Council (PYC) in Bokkos, Dakol James, said the incident occurred between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
While condemning the attack, he called on the government to take urgent action to end the violence.
“The entire Bokkos youth population is deeply disappointed with the security situation. As of this morning, no security personnel have been deployed to assess the situation. It has been about 12 hours, and we have not seen any security presence,” he said.
Also speaking, a youth leader in Bokkos, Christopher Luka, said he began hearing gunshots around 8:00 p.m. but could not immediately determine their source.
“When I heard the gunshots, I started calling others to find out where the shooting was coming from. Before this, the area had been relatively peaceful.
“There had been no recent incidents of violence, so this attack came as a shock. We strongly condemn both the attack and the absence of security personnel,” he said.
Luka added that youth leaders had been working to calm tensions among residents, urging restraint while awaiting a response from security agencies.
“They have heeded our call for calm,” he said.
Similarly, Chairman of the Gan Allah Fulani Development Association (GAFDAN) in Bokkos, Saleh Adamu, condemned the attack, describing it as unfortunate and unwarranted.
“I was surprised to hear about the attack, especially as the community had been enjoying relative peace. There had been no incidents to justify this.
“We have been holding meetings, and peace was gradually returning. This development is both unfortunate and condemnable.
“We do not yet know those responsible. We urge security agencies to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said.
Efforts to reach the spokespersons of Operation Enduring Peace and the Plateau State Police Command, Captain Polycarp Oteh and SP Alabo Alfred, were unsuccessful, as they had yet to respond to inquiries at the time of filing this report.
Source: Daily Trust
