Eight victims of Thursday night’s terrorist attack on Mbwelle village in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State were buried on Friday in a mass burial marked by grief and renewed calls for vigilance.
The victims were murdered at about 11 pm when gunmen invaded the community and opened fire indiscriminately for nearly an hour.
The victims were said to be members of the same family.
Those laid to rest were Elder Iliya Mangut Dakus, Mr. Luck Titus Dakus, Mr. Habila Istifanu Dakus, Mr. Hassan Istifanus Dakus, Mrs. Hassan Moses Dakus, Biggie Lucky Dakus, Sunday Gideon Dakus, and Mr. Innocent Barnabas Makwin.
Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, who handled the funeral ceremony, addressed mourners at the graveyard.
In his remarks, he said, “My fellow Christians, I will not stop calling on heaven because of our brothers and sisters who have been killed in Bokkos. These were people living peacefully without knowing they would be killed today, without knowing that some people were planning to come and kill them, while we were busy thinking that we were living in peace with them.
“Most of the victims are members of the Christ Apostolic Church. The other time, I was at the Catholic Church in Kuru, and 90 percent of the attack victims were Catholic members. I have performed mass burials for COCIN members, ECWA members, and Pentecostal members. We are all under a dilemma.”
He added, “With what is happening, they want to ensure that the people they have chosen for Plateau will be the ones at the helm of leadership in 2027 so that they will control.”
The cleric’s remarks came as residents expressed their outrage at the attack.
Kefas Mallai, Chairman of the Community Peace Observers in Bokkos LGA, had previously stated that the assault caused tension in the community, noting that “the people are saying they want to protest because the security men did not protect them and the attack lasted for hours, yet there was no security presence to repel the assailants.”
Christopher Luka, the Youth Leader of Bokkos, called the killings “a sad and devastating assault on the people of Bokkos and Plateau State as a whole,” adding that the assailants “mostly targeted one family.”
The burial occurred amid ongoing security operations in the state.
On Thursday, Operation Enduring Peace troops killed ten terrorists in Wase and Kanam Local Government Areas while also recovering arms and logistics supplies.
Efforts to obtain a response from the Plateau State Police Command regarding the Mbwelle attack were unsuccessful as of the time of reporting this article.
