Plateau Killings: Three family members, unborn baby killed in renewed attack in Bokkos

Chairman of Bokkos Community Development Council (BCDC) Vanguard, Barr. Farmasum Fuddang has said that Monday’s attack on Wumat, a Christian community in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State was meant to prevent the people from casting their votes in Saturday’s local government election

Three persons were said to have been killed when gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen invaded Wumat, a Christian community with a small population of approximately 300 to 500 residents on Monday, just two days before the scheduled local government election.

The victims included an unborn child whose mother received a bullet wound in the stomach. While the would-be mother survived, the unborn child died in the womb.

Fuddang said that the attack came one week after intelligence reports indicated a heightened risk of violence in the area due to the influx of individuals suspected to be Fulani terrorists crossing from the boundaries of Plateau and Nasarawa States.

He said the timing of this attack coinciding with the local government elections raised grave concerns of an orchestrated attempt to intimidate their community and suppress their participation in the electoral process.

In a statement, Fuddang said: “Under the cover of night, as families in Wumat were settling in for the evening, armed assailants speaking the Fulani dialect infiltrated the town through nearby cornfields. At 8:49 PM, they launched a terrifying assault, breaking into homes and firing indiscriminately for several minutes.

“By the time help arrived, three members of a single family were found dead: Mr. Istifanus Mallo (the father), Mr. Innocent Istifanus Mallo (the son), and Lois Istifanus Mallo (the daughter). Additionally, four others sustained serious injuries, including a heavily pregnant woman who was shot in the abdomen. Miraculously, she survived but her unborn child did not.

“This attack in Wumat, situated in the Tarangol district, comes on the heels of unfounded accusations from Fulani leaders who alleged that our community members forcibly evicted their members in Tarangol.

“We hereby call for the investigation of Alh. Saleh Yusuf, Alh. Umar Ori, and Alh. Mohammed Gorte, who signed a defamatory letter dated August 23, 2024, addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Plateau State. We have consistently countered their baseless claims through formal petitions and media releases.

“These allegations were made during a period when we were mourning the loss of over 30 community members due to similar armed assaults by Fulani militants in Butura, Daffo, Mbar, and surrounding districts.

“Moreover, the Fulani have been grazing their livestock on our crop farms and occupying our lands without permission, creating a hostile environment for local landowners. Despite our community’s restraint in the face of such provocations, we continue to be unjustly accused in a pattern that appears designed to justify further violence.

“We demand the arrest and investigation of the aforementioned individuals for their potential complicity in this recent attack, which coincided with the local government elections. Residents report that followers of these Fulani leaders issued open threats prior to the attack, which further justifies our position. These individuals should as a matter of fact be held responsible for any future attacks in the area.

“As we write this, we are working in the background to appeal to women to withdraw their planned protests in the interest of peace and development especially given the ongoing elections. We demand that our efforts should be complemented with the arrest of these suspects whose clear goal is to take over and dominate our lands.”