Tragedy struck Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State on Wednesday night as armed assailants launched coordinated attacks on five communities, killing at least 10 people initially. By Thursday, the death toll had risen to over 40 as more bodies were discovered across the affected areas.
The affected communities—Mangor Tamiso, Daffo, Manguna, Hurti, and Tadai—were left in mourning, with residents forced to bury their loved ones in mass graves following the gruesome assault.
Reacting to the carnage, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, expressed deep concern over the escalating wave of insecurity plaguing the country. Describing the attack as “senseless,” Obi decried the normalization of mass killings and mass burials in Nigeria.
“I woke up this morning to yet another gory and deeply distressing report from Bokkos, Plateau State,” Obi said in a statement. “Entire families have again been slaughtered in another senseless attack. Children and pregnant women were not spared.”
He questioned the government’s apparent inaction in the face of recurring bloodshed.
“How long will these killings, kidnapping, maiming and criminality continue in our nation that is not at war?” he queried. “How many more must die before the government acts decisively for the people?”
Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State, lamented that Nigerians now live in constant fear, unable to go to farms or markets without risking their lives. He cited several communities across Nigeria, including Jato-Aka in Benue, Eha-Amufu in Enugu, Ufuma in Anambra, and Aba Oyinbo in Ondo, which are facing similar threats.
“We are now normalizing mass killings and mass burials as a way of life in our nation,” he stated. “Every Nigerian life is sacred, whether in Edo State, Benue, Enugu, Borno, Anambra, Ondo, or Plateau.”
He called on the Federal Government and security agencies to take immediate and concrete steps to stop the violence and ensure justice for the victims.
“This grief and terror must end. It is becoming extremely unacceptable. The government must act now to protect its citizens,” he said.
The attacks in Bokkos are the latest in a series of violent incidents in Plateau State, further fueling concerns over the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.
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