The gunmen also burnt several houses and property worth millions of naira while over 10,000 persons were displaced.
According to a report by
Saturday PUNCH, twelve days after the Christmas Eve attacks by gunmen that
resulted in the death of over 150 people and prompted residents to evacuate
Plateau communities in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Mangu Local Government Areas,
the affected areas remain uninhabited
The PUNCH reports that the
killing which had been ongoing in Plateau State worsened on Christmas Eve when
gunmen attacked over 25 communities, killing over 150 persons.
The gunmen also burnt several
houses and property worth millions of naira while over 10,000 persons were
displaced
Some of the attacked
communities are Mangur village, Mbar, Tangur, Bokkos Central, Butura, Mushere.
The PUNCH correspondent who
visited the affected communities, including Matellem village, Dung village,
Yelwa village, Ngyong, observed that the villages were completely deserted.
It was also observed that no security presence
was stationed in the affected communities
At Mbar community where a
pastor and four of his children and his wife were among those said to have been
killed during the attack, Saturday PUNCH
charred remains of other residents who were burnt beyond recognition as
their bones littered the floor of their
burnt houses in the community.
A peace advocate, Gideon
ParaMallam, who led a team of his Peace Foundation to Bokkos communities to
sympathize with the people on Friday expressed concern over the level of devastation
in the communities.
ParaMallam also visited the
internally displaced persons who were camping at different locations, including
the COCIN Church in Bokkos and donated some relief materials to them.
Speaking with journalists,
ParaMallam said, “We have come here to Bokkos and we have seen and heard from
the people. The attacks in Bokkos villages have been very devastating. The loss
of lives and the degrading and the degrading of human dignity has been very
painful. Our peace foundation came to make a call for peace to appeal to the people
of Bokkos for restraints.
“We have also come to see
things for ourselves so that we can promote the cry for Justice for the people
of Bokkos. Our peace foundation believes in peace building that is predicated
on justice.
“That useless narrative that
goes around that makes it look as if that it is Bokkos people who have been
fighting and killing themselves is a complete fallacy and a lie .Bokkos People
are not killing themselves.
“We have talked with them and
heard from them and I believe that our visit will not only throw more light on
what Bokkos people have gone through but to encourage Nigerians to rise in
unison to condemn the terrorism that took place on Christmas eve and right
after that .The only way to bring peace to Bokkos Communities is to return them
back to their communities.”
The PUNCH Correspondent who
visited the burnt palace of the paramount ruler of Bokkos at about 5 pm on
Friday saw a thick billowing smoke still oozing out from the burnt palace.
Soldiers who were drafted to
the area were also seen guarding the palace.
It was learnt that the
paramount ruler fled the community with members of his family before the
protesting women set his place on fire.
The Chairman of Community Peace
Observers in Bokkos LGA,Kefas Mallai told our Correspondent that the protesting
women burnt the palace of the paramount because they believe that he has
abandoned the people to their fate over the attacks in their communities .
He said “The people are angry
at the district head of Bokkos and that is why they went and set his house
ablaze because they believe he has compromised his duty to speak and protect
the people.
“Just yesterday (Thursday),
some of the youths who went to look after their burnt communities were arrested
by soldiers. The women saw that as unfair and injustice and wanted them to be
released as they could not understand why the soldiers would leave terrorists
and were arresting people who are victims .And
in all of these the paramount
ruler was nowhere to be found and so they went and burnt his house “
The Chairman of Bokkos LGA,
Monday Kassam, in an interview, blamed the military for the fresh tension in
his area.
He said, “When the people who
went to look after the attacked communities were arrested by the soldiers,
about 10 of them were arrested. I got the information and I called the
Commander and told him what was happening and asked that those people should be
arrested. They should release them but he did not listen. So, that is the
problem but we have been talking to the people so that the issue can be
resolved.”
It was learnt that a new sector
commander had been deployed to Bokkos following the attacks in the communities
The new Sector Commander of
Operation Safe Haven in charge of Bokkos ,Lt Col Isaac Indiorhwer ,however allayed fears of
any fresh attack in the communities and assured
that they were doing everything possible to restore peace in the trouble
communities .
The commander spoke on Friday
when the President of Gideon and Funmmi ParaMallam Peace Foundation visited the
Command’s headquarters in Bokkos after a tour of the troubled communities
He also dismissed the claim
that troops had abandoned the troubled communities.
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