No fewer than eight persons have been confirmed dead on Wednesday after two separate attacks carried out by gunmen in the Congo and Zarap communities in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.
It was discovered that one of the victims was Kenneth Kadish, a member of the Community Peace Service in Bokkos LGA, Plateau state.
It was also discovered that one of the attacks occurred at 7 p.m. near the Congo community’s market, shortly after the market had closed for the day.
While six people perished quickly in the Congo village, two died in the nearby Zarap community.
Kefas Mallai, Chairman of the Community Peace Service in Bokkos LGA, confirmed the two attacks to The Punch in Jos on Wednesday.
The chairman said, “Some armed men just came to the Angwa community and Zarap community and attacked the people on Tuesday night around 7 pm. Nobody expected that there would be any attack on the people who are struggling to put behind them the ugly experiences of previous attacks.
“In Angwa Congo, the people were just relaxing and enjoying themselves because that Tuesday was their market day when some armed persons appeared and opened fire on those standing.
“Six persons died instantly, while some persons were injured. Among the six persons who died was my member of peace ambassador, Kenneth Kadish, who is a member of the Community Peace Service in Bokkos LGA.
“Then in the Zarap community, some gunmen on motorbikes just shot at two persons standing in front of their houses and killed two of them. All the attacks and killings happened on Tuesday night and took the same pattern.”
Mallai, who condemned the attacks, said that the matter had been reported to the security agents.
“We have reported the attacks to the security agents because the place where the attack on the Angwa Congo community took place was not far from the security checkpoint.
“They have come to check the place, and I think they have started their investigation to know those who carried out the attack and possibly apprehend them,” the chairman said.
The spokesman for the Plateau Police Command, Alabo Alfred, was not easily available when called since his mobile phone showed that it was turned off.
The latest incident exacerbates the mounting instability in Bokkos LGA, where numerous settlements have been regularly targeted, leaving inhabitants in perpetual fear and uncertainty.
