Police probe gunmen attack on Plateau mining site

The Plateau State Police Command has begun an investigation into an attack by gunmen on a mining site in Bokkos Local Government Area of the state which claimed the lives of four youths.

The police spokesman in Plateau State, Alabo Alfred, made this known exclusively to PUNCH Metro on Saturday night while responding to an inquiry on the incident in Jos, the state capital.

PUNCH Metro reports that four youths were confirmed dead on Saturday morning, following an attack by gunmen on the mining site in the Bokkos Local Government Areas of the state on Friday night.

It was learnt that the victims were working at a mining site in the Batura community when the gunmen attacked them around 9 pm, killing four persons on the spot.

The President of the Butura Youth Movement, Sabastine Magit, confirmed the killings in a statement on Saturday.

Magit said the gunmen also injured five other persons during the attack before they fled the area.

The youth leader gave the names of those killed as Bwefuk Musa, 21; Klingshak Dickson, 21; Promise Joshua, 20, and Nyam Abaka, 20.

The statement read, “In yet another unprovoked assault on members of the Butura community, armed terrorists, speaking the Fulani dialect, opened fire on innocent youths working at a mining site near the villages of Kuba and Maikatako in the Butura district of Bokkos Local Government Area in Plateau State on October 10.

“The attack was carried out at approximately 9 pm without any provocation, leading to the death of four innocent people and the injury of five others.

“This attack occurred just four days after a tragic incident in the village of Wumat, where five members of a family, including a pregnant mother, lost their lives.

“Eyewitnesses report that the assailants executed a lightning-fast operation on October 10, fleeing the scene before military personnel stationed at a nearby checkpoint could respond. Tragically, four individuals were killed instantly, and five others sustained injuries.”

The deceased are: Bwefuk Musa, 21 years; Klingshak Dickson, 21 years; Promise Joshua, 20 years and Nyam Abaka, 20 years.”

Speaking on the incident on Saturday during an inquiry by our correspondent in Jos, the spokesman for the Plateau State Police Command, Alabo Alfred, condemned the killing, describing it as unfortunate.

“We are trying to get more facts about the incident”, he told our correspondent.

The PPRO urged residents of the state to assist the police with useful information that could help unravel the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incident.

Cases of attacks and killings by gunmen have continued in Bokkos LGA and the surrounding communities despite surveillance by the police and other security agents.

Only last week, the gunmen killed a pregnant woman and injured two others in the Jol community of Riyom Local Government Area of the state.

The police and other security agents had yet to arrest those who perpetrated the dastardly act.