No fewer than 14 traders, including women and infants, have been killed after a group of armed men suspected to be bandits launched a brutal attack on a vehicle conveying merchants returning home from a market.
The victims, who had spent the day at a local market, were ambushed and murdered in cold blood while returning to their various communities.
As gathered, the attackers opened fire on the unsuspecting passengers on their way home, leaving several others with serious injuries.
Survivors told reporters that the assailants were heavily armed and showed no mercy, firing at close range in a hail of bullets.
The incident occurred yesterday along Chirang Road in Mangor District of Bokkos Local Government Area, Plateau State, while the victims were returning from the weekly market in Bokkos town when their vehicle was blocked and ambushed by gunmen.
“It was a nightmare. They blocked the road suddenly and started shooting at the vehicle without warning,” one eyewitness told journalists, requesting anonymity for security reasons.
Chairman of the Bokkos Cultural Development Forum (BCDF), Farmasum Fuddang, confirmed the killings in a statement released on Friday.
He expressed deep frustration over the repeated violence in the area despite ongoing dialogue between farmers and herders.
“The victims were returning from the weekly market in Bokkos town when their vehicle was ambushed. Victims included women and little babies,” Fuddang stated.
He further alleged that Fulani militias were behind the attack, claiming their motive was part of a broader plan to dominate Bokkos LGA.
“This violence occurs despite various so-called peace and reconciliation efforts,” he said.
Fuddang affirmed that the people of Bokkos will not be silenced or driven from their ancestral lands, urging the government to take decisive action to end the bloodshed.
