Ten persons have been killed as suspected Fulani militias attacked Mandung-Mushu and Kopnanle villages of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, on Friday night.
Addressing newsmen on Saturday, Chairman, Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) Vanguard, Barr Farmasum Fuddang, said, “Last night, April 12, our community in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau state faced a horrific attack resulting in the senseless slaughter of at least ten of our members.”
Despite the presence of security forces, including the DSS, army, and Police, he lamented that the perpetrators, identified as Fulani terrorists, were allowed to carry out their heinous acts with impunity.
He added, “Under the cover of darkness, more than fifty armed terrorists descended upon the villages of Mandung-Mushu and Kopnanle, targeting innocent, unarmed, and peaceful residents as they slept. The assailants set fire to homes and a place of worship, mercilessly gunning down fleeing civilians while nearby soldiers failed to intervene effectively.
“This brazen attack, which predominantly targeted children, appears to be part of a calculated effort to instill fear and perpetrate further displacement within our communities,
” he explained.
The chairman condemned in very strong terms the act of terror, believing that it is aligned with a broader agenda to impose sharia law and seize control of their lands.
He further explained that just hours before the tragedy unfolded, BCDC Vanguard submitted a petition to the Department of State Services (DSS), challenging a leaked memo that falsely accused their people of planning violence against Fulani residents.
He added that they unequivocally stated that the intelligence behind the memo was fabricated and defamatory.
According to him, “Despite our efforts to rectify these falsehoods, the security apparatus failed to protect our community from the very threats we highlighted. We are appalled by the apparent prioritization of the lives of Fulani residents over our own and demand answers from the authorities.”
The timing of the attack, following closely on the heels of the DSS’s erroneous warning of an impending assault on Fulani communities, he said raises serious concerns about collusion or deliberate neglect and refused to accept such injustice and demand immediate transparency and accountability.
“This is more so that advance notices of attack in the area were published and circulated at least a week prior to the so-called DSS intelligence. The DSS ignored these warnings and instead chose to implicate the victims despite acknowledging in their memo that the Fulani were responsible for the six-day attack that claimed over 300 of our members last Christmas,” he explained.
The council put on record that the DSS alert is synonymous with the age-long strategy of the Fulani terrorists who often raise false alarms to intimidate residents and/or justify planned attacks, saying that unless the DSS clears its name on this, they reckoned that it is complicit and compromised.
“Should the authorities fail to provide satisfactory explanations within the shortest possible time, we are prepared to pursue legal recourse. Enough is enough—we will not allow our people to be targeted and vilified while those responsible for our safety turn a blind eye,” he submitted.
